


Biography of Heartbreak

by haaaveyoumetted



Series: There's A Hole in My Soul, Can You Fill It? [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Alive Hale Family, M/M, Pre-relationship Sterek, Slow Build, Warning: Kate Argent, like seriously though really really slow build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-22
Updated: 2014-01-02
Packaged: 2017-12-27 07:08:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 34,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/975916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haaaveyoumetted/pseuds/haaaveyoumetted
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So I made a post on <a href="http://righteouspumpernickel.tumblr.com/post/61920280208">tumblr</a> that said: "I really really really need a sterek fic where Stiles grows up a human in the Hale pack</p><p>like he’s not officially pack, but he’s totally pack and the Hale family adores him</p><p>and they all give each other knowing looks because it’s so obvious Derek has always been in love with him</p><p>fuck I really need to write this. like right now" and then decided to actually write it myself, and now we're here.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Turn it to the first page, tell me what your story's all about (Part One)

### Chapter One: Turn it to the first page, tell me what your story's all about (Part One)

It didn’t take long for the Hale family to grow attached to the boy; in fact, it happened almost instantly.  
  
The first time they met the boy, he was sitting in the passenger seat of the sheriff’s police cruiser, anxiously fiddling with his fingers, eyes darting in every direction, carefully studying his surroundings. He had far too much tension in the way he held himself for a ten year old boy, but watching one’s own mother slowly lose her battle with cancer will do that to a person of any age.  
  
The sheriff had gotten a call about a small fire at the Hale house, and luckily, it was quickly resolved with very little damage to the house, and no injuries to be accounted for. He spoke to the mother of the household, Talia, and noticed her attention wavered somewhere behind him throughout the conversation.  
  
“We should all be cleared out of here and out of your hair very shortly Mrs. Hale,” sheriff Stilinski assured with a small smile.  
  
She returned the gesture with a smile of her own, offering her thanks as she let her gaze wander behind the sheriff again. This time, he followed her line of sight and noticed, curiously, that she had been looking at his son.  
  
“How is the boy?” she asked softly, meeting the sheriff’s eyes. He had never spoken about his wife with the Hales personally, but Beacon Hills was a small town where news like that traveled very quickly.  
  
He let out a tired sigh, visibly deflating in a way that could be overlooked if one wasn’t paying close attention. “He’s-“, he paused, sighing once again, “He’s doing better than I am. I know that he’s hurting… but Stiles is just like his mother- always taking care of me before himself. I don’t- I don’t know what to do- how… how to get him to start talking to people again. I’ve never seen him this quiet” the sheriff finished honestly, feeling a bit of weight being lifted off of his shoulders. He didn’t really have anyone to talk about this with, now that Claudia was gone.  
  
Talia gave him a sympathetic look, gently touching his arm in a gesture of support before replying, “Why don’t I take him off of your hands for a few hours?”  
  
The sheriff snapped his head up to meet her gaze, clearly taken aback by the offer.  
  
“You’re on duty, and I know that none of this is easy. The kids would love having him around, and maybe they’ll even be able to get him to open up a little”, she offered.  
  
He glanced back at the car, and then returned his attention to the striking woman standing in front of him. His family and the Hale family were not close by any means, but Claudia had trusted them, and he knew that they were an upstanding group of people at the very least- and if it meant getting Stiles to start opening up again, he was willing to accept any help he could get.  
  
“Are you sure you don’t mind?”  
  
Her smile grew and she shook her head, “I insist”.  
  
She could see the relief in his eyes, and smell it radiating off of the man in small waves. He excused himself momentarily, returning to the car to retrieve his son. Even from where she was standing, Talia could hear the young boy’s heart rate spike drastically as his father spoke to him. Panic was evident in his eyes, as he struggled to keep his expression blank. After a few moments, he reluctantly followed his father back to where to was standing, the sheriff’s hand placed protectively on one of his son’s shoulders.  
  
His nerves almost suffocated her senses completely, but she quickly pushed it to the back of her mind; She had her work cut out for her with this one. Smiling, she extended her hand towards him.  
  
“I’m Talia Hale, it’s lovely to meet you”  
  
The boy glanced up at her as his tongue darted across his lips, and he anxiously ran a hand over the back of his neck; she immediately recognized these as his tells, and over the years she would find that they wouldn’t change.  
  
He extended his own hand, softly grasping onto hers, almost as if he was afraid she would break or slip away. “I’m Stiles, it’s nice to meet you Talia”, he offered politely.  
  
A sad smile overtook her features as she further studied the youngest Stilinski, and immediately realized that she was enamoured with him. She affectionately squeezed his hand before she continued, “I’d love for you to meet my family. We’re all spending the day together and I know you’d get on with everyone very well.”  
  
He hesitated momentarily before nodding in agreement, his eyes trained on the ground at their feet.  
  
“Yeah, s-sure. Thanks.”  
  
If she were human, she may have struggled to hear his reply. She returned her attention to the sheriff, giving him a nod. “Just come back when you can, he’ll be taken care of here”, Talia said warmly.  
  
The sheriff nodded, once again giving his thanks, before saying a brief goodbye to his son and driving off in the cruiser.  
  
XXXXXX  
  
The first thing he noticed about the house as he stepped inside was how huge it was; the second thing he noticed was the wall of noise he was immediately hit with. He had grown used to almost deafening silence the past few years, and compared to his home, the difference was like having a grenade explode right next to an unsuspecting target; it completely overwhelmed his senses, and he found himself concentrating all of his energy on simply remembering how to breathe. Panic attacks were nothing new; he had become familiar with them these past few years, and usually he would just give in and let it take him for a while, simply to escape everything that he couldn’t otherwise; but not here. He _wouldn’t_ let that happen _here_.  
  
Once he felt like he had a handle on his breathing, Stiles opened his eyes; he wasn’t even aware he had closed them in the first place. He glanced up at Talia, noticing her hand on the same spot his father’s had been only moments ago. Her fingers lightly squeezed his shoulder as she slowly led him further into the house, where the noise only seemed to get louder, which he hadn’t even thought possible.  
  
Stiles found himself unable to decided where to look first. The room was large, with a ceiling reaching at least 10 feet; three couches lining the walls with a coffee table in the middle, and a large TV perched against the adjacent wall. This lead into giant kitchen, filled with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. There were six adults occupying this space, alternating between coking and engaging in excited conversation. His eyes shifted, taking note of the room with the couches, finding them occupied with individuals of all ages, ranging from small children to young adults. The third thing he noticed- this family was _huge_. The panic was rising in his chest for the third time since he arrived on the Hale property, but it quickly diminished as Talia slowly massaged the shoulder her hand seemed to have taken permanent residence on, almost as if she could sense his discomfort.  
  
She quietly cleared her throat, and all activity within the house immediately came to a halt, startling Stiles to the point where he almost stumbled backwards.  
  
“Everyone”, she began with a small smile, “this is Stiles Stilinski, and he’ll be spending some time with us.”


	2. Turn it to the first page, tell me what your story's all about (Part Two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talia was growing more intrigued by the Stilinski boy as each second passed; he was very observant for his age, which is a quality, she would come to realize, the entire Hale family would find themselves thankful for and impressed by in the future.

### Chapter Two: Turn it to the first page, tell me what your story's all about (Part Two)

As soon as the boy stepped foot into the house, Talia could feel that he was completely overwhelmed. She kept her hand on his shoulder as an anchor, quickly realizing he almost didn’t need it at all. She let herself marvel in the young boy’s ability to control his emotional responses momentarily before softly squeezing his shoulder and leading him further into the house.

They both paused at the entry way, Talia never removing her hand from his shoulder. She watched the boy closely, as he carefully studied his surroundings and the other people occupying that space. Talia was growing more intrigued by the Stilinski boy as each second passed; he was very observant for his age, which is a quality, she would come to realize, the entire Hale family would find themselves thankful for and impressed by in the future. As soon as she began to sense the tension in his body she was already becoming far too familiar with, Talia began massaging his shoulder. A small smile appeared on her face as she briefly mulled over the calming effect she had on him.

Immediately all activity in the house ceased as the alpha gently cleared her throat, and she absentmindedly tightened her grip on the boy. It was only human for him to be startled by someone grabbing the attention of an entire house full of people with such a seemingly insignificant act; an alpha commanding the attention of her pack was something completely new to Stiles, Talia was sure.

“Everyone”, she began with a small smile, “this is Stiles Stilinski, and he’ll be spending some time with us.”

Before the words had fully left her lips, she knew her pack was studying every inch of him. She also knew that the attention would overwhelm the boy and guided him to the kitchen, deciding that introducing him fully to the older members of the pack first would be the best way to make Stiles feel a bit more comfortable in their home.

“Stiles, this is Peter, my younger brother; Renée, my younger sister, and her husband Robert; my husband Gabriel, and his brother Luke and sister-in-law Melanie”, she said slowly, gesturing to each person as she named them off.

Stiles carefully looked each of them in the eyes, trying to ignore the fact that he felt like he was collapsing in on himself and replied, “I-It’s nice to meet you all. My name isn’t actually Stiles Stilinski, I mean, who would name their kid _Stiles Stilinski_ right? But trust me; you don’t even want to know what my first name _actually_ is, because believe it or not, it’s way weirder...”  
He seemed to realize that he was rambling and let his sentence trail off.

How he managed to get that many words out in a single breath was something Talia would never understand. A small smirk appeared on her face, seeing the older members of her pack staring at the boy in wonder, completely caught off guard. It was obvious that everyone in the house, wolf and human alike, could feel the nervous energy radiating off of the sheriff’s son, and it was difficult not to pick up on his anxious behavior; but it was becoming clear that Talia’s instincts to bring the boy into the Hale home had been wise to follow. If should could continue to find ways to get the boy to talk, she knew he would be a valuable asset to the pack, and that thought alone, about a human boy she had met not ten minutes ago, was something completely new and very unusual.

She gave each of the six one last glance and a small nod, knowing they would be discussing the boy at a later time, before leading him back into the main room, where all of the younger pack members were congregated. Their lively chatter and erratic laughter fizzled out as they noticed the presence of their alpha and the Stilinski boy.

“Stiles, this is the rest of my family. These are Luke and Melanie’s children- Anna Lee and Christian, Renée and Robert’s daughter Elizabeth, and my children – Cora, Daniel, Laura and Derek.”

Silence filled the room. Surprisingly, Daniel was the first to speak.

“Finally”, he began with a small smile, “I have another boy to hang out with… who doesn’t just sit there and glare at me”, he finished, earning a scowl from Derek, an elbow in the side from Christian, and laughter from the girls.

Stiles lips curled into a small smile, reaching his hand to place on top of Talia’s and gave it a small squeeze, before gently lifting it off of his shoulder and going to join the children on the couches.

Daniel immediately engaged in conversation with him, barely giving him enough time to sit down. Talia observed for a moment, before Stiles glanced over at her, gave her a smile and a small nod of reassurance and turned back to her youngest son, giving Daniel his full attention.

She noticed right away that even the children of her pack weren’t questioning the boy’s presence, and the intrusion of a non-pack member was not putting them on edge even in the slightest. Usually, Talia would not stand for her pack letting their guard down that easily, but this time, she knew that she would have scolded them if they hadn’t. She also knew that should have worried her, a lot, but she couldn’t find herself bothered at all.

XXXX

Back in the kitchen, the seven adults of the Hale pack were speaking in hushed tones in an attempt to keep the contents of the conversation from the children in the next room.  
“I could smell it as soon as he stepped onto the property Talia”, Luke said. “He exudes anxiety and immense sadness and some underlying emotions I can’t quite place.”  
“I was almost suffocated by it as soon as he stepped out of the police cruiser”, the alpha began, “but if I were human, I don’t think I would’ve been able to tell. He does have his tells, but it’s impressive for a boy his age, being able to execute emotional control to the extent that he does.”

“To a human, he simply comes off as a young boy who is shy; socially awkward to some extent. Given the circumstances with his mother, which it seems most of the town is aware of at this point, most would chalk it up to grieving; an emotional scar that will fade in time”, Robert interjected. Melanie nodded her head in agreement.

“Why did you bring him here Talia?”, her brother asked.

“Why do you think I brought him here Peter?”, she replied, smirking slightly. Judging by the look on his face, Peter knew exactly why Talia had brought Stiles into their home. They had always been able to read each other like that.

“Humans make the pack stronger”, Peter replied, “and for some reason, Stiles is startlingly strong-willed for a human, especially his age-“, he paused to glance at everyone in the room before returning his gaze to his sister.”-and you want to consider making him pack.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The response to this has been so amazing already! Thank you guys so much :D when I had this idea, I didn't really know if I wanted to be the one to write it, but I'm going to do my best to turn my vision into something you guys can enjoy. The feedback is much appreciated! 
> 
> ***for your reference
> 
> 1) Hale Pack  
> a) Adults  
> i) Talia Hale (36 years old) (alpha)  
> ii) Peter Hale (20 years old)(beta)  
> iii) Renee Hale (28 years old) (beta)  
> iiii) Robert Hale (30 years old) (human)
> 
> i) Gabriel Hale (38 years old) (alpha’s mate)  
> ii) Luke Hale (36 years old) (beta)  
> iii) Melanie Hale (34 years old) (human)
> 
> b) Children  
> i) Laura Hale (16 years old) (beta)  
> ii) Derek Hale (16 years old) (beta)  
> iii) Christian Hale (13 years old) (beta)  
> iv) Anna Lee Hale (13 years old) (human)  
> v) Daniel Hale (11 years old) (human)  
> vi) Stiles Stilinski (10 years old) (human)  
> vii) Cora Hale (10 years old) (beta)  
> viii) Elizabeth Hale (6 years old) (beta)  
> 


	3. Turn it to the first page, tell me what your story's all about (Part Three)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "-but that doesn't make any sense. I mean, fine, Luke is cool and all, but it's _Han Solo_. No one can possibly compete with that! He's a ridiculously awesome pilot, he dresses so much _better_ than Luke does, _and_ he's got the sass", Stiles argued.
> 
> Ever since he learned of the mutual appreciation he shared for Star Wars with Cora, they'd been arguing relentlessly over characters, namely Luke Skywalker vs. Han Solo, both holding steadfastly to their own opinions.
> 
> "But he's Luke Skywalker Stiles. He saves everyone; he's literally the _hero_ of the series", Cora replied.

### Chapter Three: Turn it to the first page, tell me what your story's all about (Part Three)

Sheriff Stilinski was not one to trust people easily, and leaving Stiles with the Hale family for the day while he was on duty was not easy for him, but he trusted them. Personally, he didn’t know them all that well, but Claudia had been fond of Renee and her husband Robert; they often visited her in the art studio with their daughter, and although the sheriff himself had never met them, his wife’s judgment was something he never felt to need to question. That, coupled with the look Talia had given Stiles as she watched him in the police cruiser, was reassuring enough to get him through the day.

Admittedly, he was nervous about what emotional state he would find his son in when he went to pick him up from the Hale house at the end of his shift. He pulled up to the large house and exited the cruiser, making his way up to the door. He only waited a few seconds after knocking before it opened, revealing a young girl with striking features and long, dark hair.

“Sheriff Stilinski, please come in,” she greeted with a polite smile, stepping aside to allow the man space to walk in. She shut the door behind him and offered her hand, “I’m Laura, I don’t believe we’ve met.”

The sheriff extended his hand and gently took hers, “Please, call me Mr. Stilinski; I’m already on duty far too much as it is”, he offered in reply. Laura smiled and led him into the main room.

From the entryway, he could see a large group of adults occupying the space on the couches and was able to recognize Robert and Renee in an instant from all of the descriptions Claudia had given him. His attention was then drawn to the middle of the room where a pile of pillows, blankets and children of all ages were mingled as they watched a movie.

It didn’t take long for him to find Stiles in the mix, but not because he was off to the side, isolating himself like he had been doing in every possible situation the last few years-but because he was in the middle. Christian and Derek were sitting with their backs against the coffee table, Stiles was laying with his head on one of Christians thighs, his legs draped between him and Derek. Anna Lee curled up on one side of Stiles, hugging him from behind between him and Derek, while Stiles held Elizabeth close at his other side. Elizabeth played with Daniel’s hair as he laid at her feet, while Cora laid her head against Stiles thigh, her legs intertwining with Derek’s. The sheriff saw Laura walk over to the group and reclaim a spot for herself, sitting in the unoccupied spot next to Derek, leaning her head on his shoulder.

Seeing Stiles with a smile on his face, and liveliness in his eyes is something the sheriff had been missing, and although Stiles was gifted at pretending to be fine for his sake, the sheriff knew that most of the time he really was just fine; coping, surviving, getting by- but never happy. Not anymore. Not like this.

XXX

Talia had been aware of the sheriff’s presence as soon as he pulled onto the Hale property, and instructed Laura to receive him at the door when he indicated his arrival. As he walked into the room, she gave him a few minutes to stand and observe. After she felt the appropriate amount of time had passed, she stood and approached the sheriff.

“Mr. Stilinski”, she greeted with a small nod.

He looked over at her and smiled, “John, please”

She nodded again and silence fell over the pair.

“Thank you Mrs. Hale”, the sheriff said a few minutes later.

“Talia, please”, she began. “And it is really our pleasure. Claudia always spoke of how beautiful he was; animated and kind and always moving or talking. I almost didn’t recognize him earlier, but the eyes gave it away-”

“-because they’re exactly his mother’s”, John said finishing her thought.

It was at that moment Stiles noticed his father standing at the door, the smile on his face growing with the recognition. He detangled from the group on the floor, much to the protest of the other children, and ran over to his father and Mrs. Hale, the smile never leaving his face.

XXX

After that night, days spent at the Hale house were very frequent for Stiles. It didn’t take long for him to revert back to the energetic, charismatic kid that he had been before, which only lead the Hale family into being enamoured with the boy further; and they certainly didn't have any trouble getting Stiles to talk.

"-but that doesn't make any sense. I mean, fine, Luke is cool and all, but it's _Han Solo_. No one can possibly compete with that! He's a ridiculously awesome pilot, he dresses so much _better_ than Luke does, _and_ he's got the sass", Stiles argued.

Ever since he learned of the mutual appreciation he shared for Star Wars with Cora, they'd been arguing relentlessly over characters, namely Luke Skywalker vs. Han Solo, both holding steadfastly to their own opinions.

"But he's Luke Skywalker Stiles. He saves everyone; he's literally the _hero_ of the series", Cora replied.

Daniel rolled his eyes at the banter he was already becoming familiar with between the two and walked over to where the older Hale children were hanging out.

"They're arguing about Star Wars again", Laura stated more than asked, a small smirk apparent on her face.

"Is there anything else they argue about?" Anna Lee replied

"Oh, I don't know, just everything they talk about. ever." Christian said turning to his sister.

Cora and Stiles had become pretty close over the past month. They liked a lot of the same things, and they liked to argue about liking the same things; they both had strong opinions for kids their age, not that that was surprising anyone.

When Stiles wasn't with Cora, he was usually helping Elizabeth do her hair, or entertaining her latest fairytale fantasy; or helping Daniel with his homework.

Laura had six years on Stiles, but he had no trouble keeping up with her. When she wasn't busy, he challenged her just as much as he did Cora; and Laura loved him for that.

Christian and Anna Lee had become very protective of him, and always offered to help him with homework or anything else he needed.

Derek was the only one he hadn't really gotten to know very well. Every time Stiles tried talking to him, the eldest of the Hale boys would just give him a scowl or roll his eyes; but Stiles was persistent, and he would get Derek to talk to him eventually.

XXX

Talia and Gabriel, along with the rest of the adult pack members, had watched Stiles' interactions with the children very closely, and were pleased to find him falling into place so quickly. The way that he interacted with Elizabeth gained the approval of Renee and Robert instantly. Watching the way that Anna Lee and Christian watched over Stiles, almost instantly claiming the role of his protectors brought Luke and Melanie a sense of pride; and Talia and Gabriel approved of anyone who could keep up with their children the way Stiles could. He kept the pack on their toes, and Peter absolutely loved that. There was one aspect however, that amused them all; Stiles and Derek.

Laura and Derek were twins, and in appearance, they were strikingly similar-nearly identical in some traits. However, the way they presented themselves was completely different; but it hadn't always been that way. She was very social; talking to people was always easy for her, and therefor friendships with others was something that came naturally. Lately, he had kept to himself. There was no doubt that if he wanted to make friends and reach out to other people, it came just as easily to him as it did to Laura. No one could really figure out why he was so closed off suddenly.

Observing Derek and Stiles together brought the older pack members comfort. The eldest Hale child was not easy to interact with, and he was very intimidating to most people- but Stiles was certainly not most people. He poked and proded at Derek, simply trying to coax any words out of him at all. What was even more amusing was that Talia knew that even if Stiles were aware of Derek's werewolf status and the fact that he could rip his throat out, Stiles would still pester him to no end.

The pack had done well with hiding their secret from Stiles, as Talia had asked them to. She wanted to wait until the right moment. As an alpha, she always had to look out for her pack; and they had all taken to Stiles remarkably. If she were to tell him too soon, and scare the boy off, she knew they would be heartbroken, even if some of them refused to admit it.

It had only been a month, and this human boy had managed to weave his way into the pack without even realizing it. When the time came, she was hoping for everyone's sake, that he would choose to stay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are absolutely wonderful! Thank you so much for all of your feedback; it's been very helpful and inspiring. I hope you guys are still enjoying it (:


	4. Go ahead and take it, 'Cause it's my heart for the breaking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “No one touches my hair until Stiles gets here!”
> 
> The sheriff laughed as he heard Laura shouting through the phone in his son’s hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for all of the amazing feedback!  
> I hope you guys enjoy this next installment! feel free to comment with opinions/feedback/whatever (:

### Chapter 4: Go ahead and take it, 'Cause it's my heart for the breaking

The end of the school year was approaching rapidly, and for all of the young pack members, and Stiles, this meant finals of some sort, and a lot of anxious excitement for the summer; and for the two oldest Hale children, it also meant their first prom.

Laura was practically glowing. She had been asked a month prior and hadn’t wasted any time picking out a dress. Shockingly, Derek was excited for prom as well- he even had a date. As if that alone wasn’t enough to throw everyone in the house into a frenzy, apparently she was also his _girlfriend_.

XXX

The first time Derek brought Kate around, Stiles could tell that something was off. He had spent almost half of a year getting to know the Hale family, and not once had he felt the tension return to his shoulders in their presence, until Kate showed up.

No one was rude to her when she came around, and no one ever said anything to Derek; well, not at first.

“Derek, I know that you like this woman but she’s _five years_ older than you; she’s a year older than _me_ ”, Peter said.

Derek let out a frustrated growl, “Peter, I’m not having this conversation again! Everyone in this house has talked to me about this at least once, and I’m tired of hearing it!”  
  
“Don’t you think that _means_ something Derek?! If the entire pack senses something off with this woman?!”, Peter all but shouted. “Everyone is on edge when she’s around; even Elizabeth! Hell, even _Stiles_ can tell!”

The two were now so close they were nearly chest-to-chest. “ _Don’t_ bring Stiles into this”, Derek snarled, his eyes flashing yellow.

The corner of Peter’s mouth quirked into a slight smirk, “why not? Because a _human_ has better instincts than you do?”

“That’s enough”

The calm but firm command of their alpha separated the two, tension still thick in the air. Peter gave the boy one last look before exiting the room, leaving Talia to speak to her son.

He walked over to the couch, sat down and placed his head in his hands. She followed suit, sitting next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Derek” she said softly. He grunted in response and she chuckled quietly. “Listen Derek, it’s pretty apparent that no one in this pack approves of Kate; and we’re all just worried about you, you realize that right?”

He slowly removed his hands from his face and sighed, “I know”, he replied, staring at the wall in front of him.

“I’m not going to tell you what to do Derek. I may be the alpha, but I’m also your mother, and I know that telling you not to see her isn’t going to stop you. You need to be allowed to make your own decisions. Just be careful.”

She squeezed his shoulder, gave him a small smile, and then stood from the couch and exited the room the way she came in.

XXX

“No one touches my hair until Stiles gets here!”

The sheriff laughed as he heard Laura shouting through the phone in his son’s hand. Beacon Hills High was having their prom in a few hours, and after watching Stiles do the youngest Hale child’s hair for the past 6 month, Laura had decided she needed the 11 year old boy’s assistance before the big night.

Stiles jumped out of the car, and quickly turned to his father and waved before racing up to the house, as soon as they had pulled up to the Hale property. Mr. Stilinski shook his head chuckling before putting the car into reverse and heading back home. The Hale family was more than willing to have Stiles spend the night there, despite the chaos that was sure to take place in preparation for the evening.

The door was wrenched open before Stiles could even raise his hand to knock, and Anna Lee quickly pulled him inside. He stumbled slightly before regaining his balance as she dragged him through the main room and up the stairs.

Talia, Renee and Melanie all let out collective sighs of relief and Laura pulled him into a hug as soon as Stiles stepped foot in the room.

He chuckled and hugged her back gently, “Stiles Stilinski hair extraordinaire at your service”, he said stepping back and saluting.

The adults in the room laughed and visibly relaxed as Laura explained what she was looking for to the boy, using examples of ways she had seen him do Elizabeth’s hair. Once he felt confident with the explanation, Stiles picked up the brush from the table in front of Laura and began softly running it through her hair. He worked quickly, but always gently, his hands moving in ways that to the observer seemed effortless.

“How did you learn to do women’s hair so well Stiles?”, Laura asked with genuine curiosity.

Stiles faltered momentarily, and cleared his throat, resuming the task at hand.

“Uh… a few years ago, my- my mom started teaching me. She always said that it would be important one day; that if I ever had a daughter or ended up with a woman as a significant other or even just dated them and decided to go a different direction, that I would find it a useful skill”, he replied with a sad smile.

XXX

Derek fiddled nervously with the tie around his neck, adjusting it for what had to be the 15th time in five minutes. After one final look in the mirror, he exited his room and made his way down the hall. He paused in the doorway as he reached Laura’s room, taking in the scene in front of him. His mother, Melanie and Renee all stood in the corner, quietly engaged in conversation. Laura was sitting in a backless chair in front of the vanity. She was wearing a fire-engine red dress that hugged her figure tightly; it had one strap, and stopped just a few inches short of her knees. Behind her stood Stiles, expertly working his hands through her long dark hair. Derek had witnessed him doing Elizabeth’s hair plenty of times over the past few months, but he could tell that this was different. He was snapped out of the trance Stiles hands had put him in as Laura spoke.

“How did you learn to do women’s hair so well Stiles?”, Laura asked with genuine curiosity.

Derek noticed Stiles’ losing his composure very briefly before clearing his throat and continuing the task at hand.

“Uh… a few years ago, my- my mom started teaching me. She always said that it would be important one day; that if I ever had a daughter or ended up with a woman as a significant other or even just dated them and decided to go a different direction, that I would find it a useful skill”, he replied with a sad smile.

He felt his walls crumbling as he stared at the young boy. The immediate waves of sadness and pain that radiated off of Stiles when he spoke of his mother, which he rarely ever did, were suffocating. Ever since Stiles had stepped foot in the Hale home, Derek had been wary of him. The pack accepted him almost instantly and Derek was put on edge by how comforting the boy’s presence was to everyone in the home; himself included, not that he would ever admit that out loud.

“That’s- that’s one of the reason I don’t mind doing Liz’s hair whenever she asks. It makes me feel like my mom would be proud of me, y’know? Like I’m actually putting it to use, like she said I would someday; though probably not the way she had quite imagined, but then again she was always a little out there, which I guess is where I get it from…” he caught himself rambling and licked his lips nervously before continuing. “I feel like I can be close to her again, even if it’s just for a few minutes every once and a while.”

Derek found himself opening his mouth to interject, only to be interrupted by someone answering the door downstairs.


	5. Go ahead and take it all, 'cause it won't mean a thing tomorrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shortly after the couples left for prom, Stiles found himself doing hair for the second time that night, for Elizabeth and Anna Lee. They were feeling a bit left out since they weren't old enough to dress up and go to a dance like Laura, and he would not stand by and let any of the Hale girls feel left out if he could help it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for all of the feedback :D  
> You guys are so good to me already. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, even though I feel like you might hate me a bit as well. 
> 
> Let me know what you think! (:

### Chapter Five: Go ahead and take it all 'cause it won't mean a thing tomorrow

Kate's voice filled the entire house the moment she started talking.

Derek's face was never very expressive, as far as Stiles was concerned- going from an impressive range of scowling to glaring and back again. He would have laughed at the thought of it had he not been so distracted by the fact that Derek was _smiling_. The expression didn't quite reach his eyes, but only Talia and Laura had noticed.

Talia, Melanie and Renee followed Derek out of the room and down the stairs, leaving Stiles to put the finishing touches on Laura's hair.

"She doesn't actually make him happy y'know, he just thinks that she does", Laura said after a few minutes.

"Kate makes me just as uncomfortable as you and everyone else in your family Laura, but... I've never even seen Derek _smile_ until five minutes ago. I don't like having her around at all okay, but there's really not much we can do about it right now, and if you let this ruin your night after I just spent like an hour on your hair, I swear on every Star Wars movie I own-"

Laura laughed and a bright smile overtook his face. Even at his age he knew he was good at making people laugh when they needed it, and he was not going to stand by and allow Laura to be upset on prom night.

"Stiles, you are brilliant", she said looking in the mirror, her features glowing. "Thank you so much!"

She stood and pulled him into a hug. Another knock on the door echoed through the house and she tensed in his embrace.

"Laura, you are gorgeous. stop it." he mumbled into her shoulder.

She let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding and tightened her arms around him.

"What would I do without you Stiles", she stated, more than asked.

He pulled back just slightly, "Let's hope you never have to find out", he replied with a wink and a cheeky smirk.

She playfully shoved his shoulder before giving herself a final once-over in the mirror, and headed downstairs with Stiles at heels.

XXX

As soon as they reached the bottom of the stairs, Stiles' eyes went directly to Kate. He had made it perfectly clear on many occasions that he was not fond of the woman, but it couldn't be denied that she was gorgeous- tonight especially. Her long blonde hair fell in soft, curled ringlets, tumbling down past her exposed shoulders. A pastel coral dress cling to her body, hugging every curve, and stopping just a few inches above the knees like Laura's.

He stood there quietly observing Kate and Derek, scowling as she pulled him close, running her hands down his arms, slinging her arms over his shoulders, snaking them around his waist, playing it up for the cameras as everyone took pictures. Suddenly Stiles felt himself being pulled towards the center of the room.

"If you think you're getting away with not taking a picture with me...", Laura said as she hugged him close for what felt like the hundredth time that night; not that he was complaining at all. She had assumed the role of older sister he never had and he loved her.

They smiled, and then got a bit ridiculous and started posing and making faces, laughing the entire time. Talia smiled as she felt the tension in the room dissipating. The pack absorbed Stiles' calming effect quickly and lightening the mood significantly.

Stiles could feel them staring at him; their eyes were practically burning a hole in his side. He risked a glance over at the couple, his eyes widening in surprise as he discovered she was staring directly at him, with a smirk on her face that sent chills through his entire body. If he thought she made him uncomfortable before, this had certainly reached a whole new level of discomfort. He tore his gaze away from hers quickly, trying to shake the feeling of her stare from his bones. Laura's arms tightened around his waist and she placed her head on his shoulder.

"It's alright, she won't hurt you", she whispered into his ear. Stiles felt himself nodding, an odd sense of security overtaking him.

XXX

Shortly after the couples left for prom, Stiles found himself doing hair for the second time that night, for Elizabeth and Anna Lee. They were feeling a bit left out since they weren't old enough to dress up and go to a dance like Laura, and he would not stand by and let any of the Hale girls feel left out if he could help it. He had offered to do Cora's hair, immediately recanting when she lovingly threatened to rip his arms off and beat him with them if he even tried to touch her hair.

This is how Stiles ended up on the couch, sandwiched between two girls, dressed up with their hair done, watching Disney movies, while Cora and Daniel pestered Christian into watching Star Trek upstairs.

XXX

Derek and Kate and Laura and her date took separate cars to prom, which Derek was thankful for. He didn't even want to think about what would've happened if :aura and Kate were in the same car together.

A small smile found it's way to his lips as Kate removed one hand from the wheel and intertwined their fingers, giving his hand a squeeze. When they arrived at the high school, all eyes were on them. It wasn't unusual for the students to be staring at Derek, or any of the Hale children for that matter, but with Kate on his arm, people just couldn't tear their eyes away.

The relationship they had was like a blazing wildfire- it burned too hot, gained traction far too quickly, and was ultimately unstoppable without some people getting consumed by the flames in the process. They spent the first hour of the dance pressed together on the dance floor, hands roaming and mouths eager. Kate had taken most of the boy's innocence, and found herself disappointed in knowing show most likely wouldn't get to claim the rest of it.

Half way through the night, she lead him off of the dance floor and and excused herself to use the restroom. Derek sat down next to Laura, silently admiring the smile that seemed a permanent fixture on her face for the evening and felt a smile forming on his own face because of it.

XXX

Kate pulled up to the edge of the property where the group had already gathered and swiftly parked her car. She stepped out and moved to the trunk, gathering the large bag before shutting the trunk softly and walking over to join the group. She scanned their faces, a sinister smirk covering hers.

"Shall we begin?"

XXX  
Stiles jolted awake, shooting up to a sitting position, hands flailing wildly around him. He took in his surroundings and realized that he had fallen asleep on the couch, Anna Lee and Elizabeth at either side of him passed out. He smiled at the sight and stood carefully, trying not to disturb them in their peaceful state. Stretching, he walked over to the stairs and climbed them slowly, his movements still sluggish from his previous state of unconsciousness.

He walked down the hall to the left as he reached the top, making his way toward the library. Upon reaching the doorway, he knocked on the door frame softly, peering inside the room.

"Hello Stiles", Melanie greeted with a smile, "come on in."

He walked over to where the three women were gathered, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth and rubbing the back of his neck.

"Lee and Liz are asleep on the couch downstairs... I may or may not have been out of it for a while there too", he reported sheepishly.

Both Anna Lee and Elizabeth had made it clear the moment Stiles created those nicknames that he was the only person allowed to call them that, and often got defensive if anyone else tried; Lizzie and Anna or Ally were fair game.

Melanie and Renee stood and looked to Talia. "We should probably get the girls home.", Renee said, her eyes proposing it as a question.

Whenever anyone spoke around Mrs. Hale, Stiles noticed that it was almost like they needed her permission; like her word was the final word and when she walked into a room, the attention was on her without her having to ask for it, but he still hadn't quite figured out why. Whatever the reason, she had gained his respect instantly, with the way she was able to care for her family and the way that they responded to her authority impressed the boy, and he looked up to her.

Talia nodded and stood, the four of them filing out of the room and down the stairs. As they were approaching the couch, Talia and Renee stopped suddenly, Renee looking at her older sister with a curious expression.

"What is it?", Melanie asked quietly, worry coloring her features.

"I'll be right back, stay here", Talia said firmly before hurrying past the staircase and down the hall.

Melanie and Renee picked up their daughters carefully, holding them close, staring at each other with a look Stiles couldn't quite place.

"Oh my god", Renee whispered, her eyes widening in alarm.

"Renee, what is it?!", Melanie replied, trying desperately to keep her voice from sounding frantic.

Smoke started filling the air as Talia re-appeared from around the corner.

"We need to get everyone out, now!", she shouted before disappearing again.

Renee and Melanie woke Elizabeth and Anna Lee, Melanie placing Anna Lee on her feet and taking Elizabeth from Renee and holding her close.

"Melanie, take them outside, get to a safe distance", Renee instructed before turning and bolting over to the stairs, taking the steps two at a time.

Melanie ushered the children out the front door, encouraging them to walk quickly to get away from the house that they could now see was being engulfed by flames. Melanie's eyes widened as they came across a line of what looked like black powder to Stiles. It lined the entire Hale property. She cursed under her breath, realizing that while herself and Stiles would be able to walk over it with no issues, Elizabeth and Anna Lee would be trapped on this side, along with the rest of the non-human members of the pack that were still in the house. A crunching sound, resembling feet on stepping on twigs, brought their attention to the arrival of others entering the scene. A frantic Peter, Luke, Robert and Gabriel were suddenly standing in front of them on the opposite side of the line of mountain ash.

"Stiles, I need you to break that", Peter said almost wincing, uncertainty barely visible in his eyes.

"Peter-", Robert began to protest wearily.

Stiles had a lot of questions but knew that it wasn't the time to be asking them and obliged without more than a fraction of a second of hesitation. The adults looked at him, trying to contain the awestruck expressions they now wore in varying degrees, before shaking it off and springing into action.

"Peter and Robert, you come with me; Luke and Melanie you stay here", Gabriel commanded before sprinting towards the house at a speed Stiles would definitely be bringing up later, Peter and Robert a fraction of a second behind him. Melanie and Luke guided the three children past the line of mountain ash and further away from the house.

Seconds later, a car skidded to a stop a few feet away, Laura and Derek shooting out of the car and over to the group.

"What happened?!", Laura asked, panic evident in her demeanor.

Before anyone could even figure out what to say, a voice spoke out from behind them.

"It's a shame really- the two of you were supposed to live", a sickeningly sweet and all too familiar voice spoke, the sound of guns being loaded following shortly after.


	6. Saying all the wrong things, I'm reading through your lies and I'm tearing them out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles watched in awe as an arrow hit Luke in the arm and he pulled it out without even flinching, the puncture wound where it had entered his skin already disappearing. He witnessed similar things happening with everyone else engaged in the fight- they would be shot or slashed or thrown down and all signs of any sort harm would start disappearing- until the one time it didn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't really get a lot of feedback on the last chapter, but I get bored at work so I decided to write the next part anyway. I hope you all are still enjoying it!

### Chapter Six: Saying all the wrong things, I'm reading through your lies and I'm tearing them out

Derek tensed visibly as everyone in the group whipped around to see Kate standing with two men on each side of her, all of them armed.

“Kate”, Derek seethed, “what are you doing here?”, astonishment evident in his voice.

The smirk on her face alone almost made him gag. Realization began to dawn on him as he looked in disbelief from her to his house, now engulfed in flames, and back; It took every ounce of self-control he had not to throw up.

“Aw, Der Bear; don’t take it personally. I _did_ try to leave you out of it. You and your…sister weren’t supposed to be here”, she said with mock affection, briefly glancing at Laura, sizing her up.

It felt as if all of the air in his lungs had been sucked out as he struggled to breathe. Suddenly, Cora, Daniel and Christian came stumbling over, coughing uncontrollably, bent in half trying desperately to force air into their lungs; and yet Derek still felt like _he_ was the one suffocating. Anna Lee ran over to Christian, throwing her arms around him and let out a sigh of relief.

“As adorable as this little reunion is, we’ve got a schedule to keep”, Kate interjected, raising the bow she had been holding, quickly drawing back and releasing an arrow.

The arrow’s path was quickly interrupted as Peter appeared, snatching it out of the air and throwing it to the ground as he gracefully landed on his feet.

“You’re going to have to do a little better than that sweetheart.”, he said calmly, rolling his neck and shoulders.

The hunters snarled and then everything turned to chaos. Peter, Luke and Renee shifted, baring their teeth and growling as they crouched into a fighting position. Melanie quickly pushed the children behind her, as Laura and Derek stepped protectively in front of her, shifting their features in the process.

From that point everything was pretty much a blur to Stiles. He remembers the hunters being the first to attack, shooting frantically as the adults and Laura and Derek, all surged forward, tackling them to the ground, or sparring in an attempt to get the upper hand. It didn’t take long for Talia, Robert and Gabriel to join in, fierceness in their eyes Stiles had never seen before. Kate and her group were holding their own scarily well in his opinion, but the Hales were not to be messed with, that much was clear. Stiles watched in awe as an arrow hit Luke in the arm and he pulled it out without even flinching, the puncture wound where it had entered his skin already disappearing. He witnessed similar things happening with everyone else engaged in the fight- they would be shot or slashed or thrown down and all signs of any sort harm would start disappearing- until the one time it didn’t.

Stiles felt his heart stop as Derek fell to the ground, Kate standing over him leering. Derek struggled to push himself up, immediately falling back down as Kate put her foot on his back. Stiles felt Melanie grip his arm to hold him there, like she could sense his anxiety; his desire to surge forward and do _something_ , _anything_ to help.

“You should’ve stayed at the prom Derek”, Kate said leaning down to whisper into his ear, mockingly the tip of an arrow over his arm before forcefully shoving it in. A second later she was thrown off of him and onto the ground, Talia towering over her.

“Don’t touch my son”, she snarled, baring her teeth, her eyes so red they were nearly glowing.

“Too late for that”, Kate snarled back, the smirk never leaving her face.

Talia lifted her by the neck, slamming her against a tree. If she hadn’t been the alpha, Talia doubts she would have been able to keep herself from slashing Kate’s throat then and there.

She was the only hunter left, all of the men in the group she brought with her had been disposed of appropriately by Peter and Gabriel, their bodies thrown into the fire of the still burning Hale house.

Talia removed her hand and Kate fell to the ground gasping to catch her breath. Everyone slowly shifted back, joining Laura who had run to check on Derek as soon as Kate was thrown off of him.

Kate was released, which Stiles would later learn was because the Hales could sense that help was only a few miles away now, leaving them with no real choice. Robert and Peter helped Derek up, quickly moving him to the car he and Laura had arrived in earlier. Peter jumped into the driver’s seat and Melanie and Laura carefully placed Derek in the back before sliding in after him.

“Get him to Deaton quickly; he’ll know exactly what to do.”

With a nod of acknowledgement to Talia, Peter started the car and sped off, disappearing down the road.

XXX

To say that Stiles’ mind was in overdrive would be an understatement; it always was with the whole ADHD thing, but after what he had just witnessed, he was pretty overwhelmed.

His father had been one of the officers to respond when the call about the fire went out, and had immediately run to Stiles, nearly crushing him from the force of the hug he trapped his son in.

There were a lot of questions – how the fire had started, if anyone was injured- general things like that. They gave Kate’s description to the police, sans her name, leaving them to come to the conclusion on their own. It would be better for everyone that way.

Stiles sat in the back of an ambulance, his legs dangling over the edge, one arm around Anna Lee, the other around Cora, Elizabeth sitting in his lap, all of them leaning on him for support. The four of them had been medically cleared a few minutes ago and were now waiting for the rest of the mess of an evening to be sorted out.

He couldn’t stop thinking about Derek; the way he hadn’t gotten up and healed the way that everyone else had. _The way that everyone else had_ \- that was a whole different tandem he was trying to wrap his head around.

About an hour later the fire had been extinguished, everyone had been checked out and everyone was clearing the scene. Sheriff Stilinski was the only one left that wasn’t a member of the Hale family, sans Stiles. He approached his son- who was somehow managing to comfort the three Hale girls, seemingly without much difficulty- with a sad smile, a sense of pride overwhelming him.

He saw Elizabeth’s grip on his son tighten when she noticed him, almost in a silent plea to not take Stiles away from her. He locked eyes with Stiles briefly and then walked over to where Talia and the rest of the older Hales were gathered.

“I don’t mean to interrupt or impose after everything”, he said briefly gesturing around, “but it seems as though your daughters have latched themselves onto my son, and I was about two feet away before the little one clung to him for dear life”, he continued with a small chuckle. “I’m about to head out, but I don’t want to traumatize those girls with anything else tonight if I don’t have to. They can come back with me for the night if that’ll help you out at all- whatever I can do here that will be the best for you guys, just let me know what you need.”

Gabriel smiled, “Thank you Sheriff Stilinski, that’s very much appreciated. We’re going to be staying with my brother Luke while we sort out other arrangements-“, he paused gesturing to the man standing to his right.

“We would be happy to have Stiles in our home for the evening, if that’s alright with you. The girls are going to be on edge tonight and he brings them comfort”, Luke added, glancing over at where Stiles was still expertly balancing running a hand through Elizabeth’s hair, and hugging the other girls close, leaning his head on top of Cora’s.

Waves of comfort and confidence rolled off of the boy, calming not only the girls in his arms, but all of the members of the Hale pack- humans included. Having Stiles stay with them that night would be imperative to the emotional healing the pack needed after the events that had transpired.

The sheriff nodded in understanding, “You just let me know if there’s anything I can do for you guys; you have my number.”

He said his final goodbyes before walking back over to Stiles to let him know he was leaving, making sure he was alright with staying the night.

“Wait, you’re actually going to _let_ me stay tonight? After everything?”. Stiles asked in disbelief.

The sheriff shrugged. “You’re alright, and I know that you’re always safe with the Hales; they always protect you, and these girls are going to need you tonight- along with the rest of them.”

A small smile formed on Stiles’ face as he nodded, saying goodbye to his father, promising to call with updates the next day.

XXX

Upon arriving at Luke and Melanie’s house, Stiles decided that it must be some sort of rule that all of the Hale houses had to be huge. The main room was just as big as the one he was used to.

Luke moved the coffee table from the center, pushing it against the wall on the far side of the room, Robert and Renee setting up a large array of blankets and pillows on the floor. Luke turned the TV on and put in a movie while Stiles settled in the middle of the makeshift bed, the girls cuddled up around him- Cora and Anna Lee using his shoulders as pillows, Elizabeth practically sprawled out on top of him. A few minutes later, Christian and Daniel joined the group, one next to Cora, the other next to Anna Lee. The Hale children fell asleep quickly, leaving Stiles to stare blankly at the screen in front of him, absently mindedly playing with Elizabeth’s hair.

His thoughts lingered on Laura and Derek, and how Talia had left the group to go check on them once everyone else was taken care of. He wanted to hug Laura, hold her close and find some way to comfort her- even though she was never one to need it. Laura was strong; stronger than any of the girls he knew.

And _Derek_. He didn’t even know how to approach that situation- but god he wanted to do _something_. He hadn’t even been successful in trying to get Derek to talk to him at this point, so how he was supposed to get Derek _let him comfort him_ was lost on Stiles.


	7. You gotta let it go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conversation died down almost instantly as the boy approached, his hand rubbing the back of his neck and his lower lip caught in his teeth.
> 
> “So I should be really pissed off at you guys, like _really_ upset beyond all reason after last night…”, Stiles began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the constant feedback! It really helps motivate me to write more, especially this time around. For some reason this chapter was a bit difficult to get out, but I hope you guys enjoy it!

### Chapter Seven: You gotta let it go

Derek groaned softly, consciousness rushing back to him, tugging violently at his senses. His eyes felt like they had been sewn shut and it took considerable effort not whine in frustration as he peeled them open slowly.

Bright light assaulted his vision immediately, causing him to snap his eyes shut again, letting another groan escape his lips. His muscles ached and burned, like fire and shards of glass were pulsing through his veins.

“Derek…?” a voice timidly asked. The voiced echoed in his mind, making his head spin. “Derek?”, the person asked a little more firmly.

He forced his eyes open again, this time a figure was leaning over him- _Laura_. He shot up to a sitting position, dizziness overtaking him. Soft hands were gripping his shoulders, steadying him after the sudden movement threw him off balance.

“W-what… what happened? Where is everyone?”, Derek spoke hoarsely, his throat dry and irritated. His mind seemed to catch up with itself as his eyes widened. “Is everyone alright?! Did Kate get away? And the house… oh my god, and prom. Laura I’m so sorry- and”

“Derek, Derek! Look at me”, Laura commanded, her hands on either side of his face, keeping their eyes locked. “It’s fine. Everyone’s okay, alright? We’ll get Kate, everyone’s staying at Luke’s for a while, and don’t even try to apologize about prom- it’s not important. Just breathe.”

He nodded slowly, letting his eyes fall closed. He focused all of his energy on matching his breathing with hers, the panic draining from his body.

“I’m so sorry”, he whispered again, his voice breaking around the words.

Laura pulled him into a hug, whispering quiet reassurances into his ear. The two of them had always been close- but intimate moments like this were still a rarity.

A few minutes later Deaton and Talia entered the room and mentioned bullets and arrows laced with wolfs bane had been used against Derek- giving him all the explanation he needed in understanding his current state of aching and discomfort. Deaton checked him over one final time before allowing Peter, Talia, Laura and Melanie to lead Derek to the car and take him back with them.

XXX

Laura’s breath caught in her throat as soon as she walked into the main room of the quiet house. All of the Hale children- sans herself and Derek- were all piled around Stiles, sleeping soundly, as he rubbed hands along them comfortingly, staring at the muted TV blankly. A small whimper escaped her lips and his eyes snapped to meet hers. His eyes widened and she only hesitated for a brief second before running over and flinging herself into his arms, making room between Elizabeth and Anna Lee. His arms automatically found their way around her waist, holding her close.

“Stiles”, she breathed out brokenly, nuzzling herself into his neck. His arms instinctively tightened around her.

Derek watched in amazement as she relaxed visibly against the boy. It was easy to forget that she had six years on him, and that he was still _only eleven_. He felt his mother’s hand on his shoulder as she too watched the scene unfold, a fond smile gracing her features. Returning his attention to the pack pile, he was startled to find Stiles’ eyes on him, watching him carefully. Their eyes connected briefly and he felt the hand on his shoulder squeeze lightly and then disappear completely, Talia, Peter and Melanie walking past them and up the stairs to retire for the evening. Looking back to Stiles, he jerked his head in invitation, an uncertainty written on his face Derek rarely ever saw. He scanned the peaceful expressions of his sleeping siblings and cousins before slowly making his way over and curling up between Cora and Daniel.

The next morning, Stiles slipped into consciousness slowly, his limbs feeling heavy, a warmth all around him that he wasn’t used to. As he opened his eyes, the events of the previous night came flooding back to him. A bittersweet feeling filled him as he took in the sight of all the Hale children still huddled tightly around him- Laura, Elizabeth and Cora still clinging to him almost desperately. He let his gaze shift over to the kitchen and noticed all of the older Hales gathered around the large kitchen table, sipping on what he assumed was coffee, engaged in quiet discussion. Stiles carefully pried himself out of the girls’ arms, not waking any of them in the process, and walked over to join them. To say he had a lot of questions would be a giant understatement.

Conversation died down almost instantly as the boy approached, his hand rubbing the back of his neck and his lower lip caught in his teeth.

“So I should be really pissed off at you guys, like _really_ upset beyond all reason after last night…”, Stiles began.

Talia tensed noticeably. She knew this day would come, but had not expected it anywhere near this soon- it was _too soon_.

“I mean, - I.. .I just..”, the boy let out a frustrated sound, running his hands over his face. “I’ve been spending my time around a freaking _pack of werewolves_ for _months_ , how the hell did I not notice that?!”, he continued gesturing frantically. "I mean, you guys totally are werewolves, right?", he asked pausing his rant briefly.

"Most of us, yes", Luke answered. "We do have humans in the pack- through marriage, and because of that some of the children are human too."

Stiles seemed to mull this over for a moment before continuing, "wait, there are humans in the packs too?! is that why you guys took me in?! ...but then why would you try to hide all of this from me? and you guys were totally trying to hide it from me, don’t even deny it! But- why would you…”, his eyes widened as the gears in his head continued to turn and click into place. “You thought I would leave, didn’t you?”, he asked softly, though it was clear he already knew the answer. “You thought I would leave if I found out… enough to try and hide it from me so I would stay.”

He saw uneasiness in all of their expressions, some of them meeting his eyes wearily, others avoiding his gaze by keeping their heads down or staring into space solemnly.

“Well, I hate to break it to you guys, but you’re not getting rid of me. You’re kinda stuck with me actually, so you should probably get used to that”, Stiles said with a laugh and a smirk.

The tension in the room dissolved in an instant and before he could even blink, Stiles felt himself being crushed in a hug- a giant group hug, sans Talia and Gabriel, who watched with wide smiles, laughing and shaking their heads.

“So this must be a pack thing, the whole ‘let’s completely cling to Stiles until there’s no personal space whatsoever’ trend that I'm getting a lot of lately”, he mumbled out, eliciting a laugh from everyone in the room. They slowly detached themselves from him, some ruffling his hair or placing kisses on his face in the process.

“As much as I love the love fests, which I totally do and I am totally okay with that being a thing, I have about a million questions- some of which I’d really really like to get some answers to”, Stiles said eagerly.

“Alright”, Talia conceded. “What would you like to know?”


	8. The mountain that you were, standing high in a place so wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles met Scott McCall the first day of 7th grade. Scott was sitting somewhere near the middle of the classroom, looking like a lost puppy- long shaggy black hair and huge brown eyes- and if you looked closely enough, his jaw was slightly uneven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me a bit longer to update than usual! I had it ready a few days ago, but my computer shut off randomly and I lost half of it, so it's taken me a while to go back and fix it. Thanks for reading guys! (:

### Chapter 8: The mountain that you were, standing high in a place so wrong

By the time the next school year rolled around, everything seemed to be changing. Stiles would stick around for training with the pack, and was exposed “puppy piles” aka ‘turn Stiles into a human snuggling post’ on a regular basis- but other _normal, human_ changes were happening too. Laura and Derek were in their senior year- meaning college applications and becoming young adults- which terrified and excited them both; Anna Lee and Christian were getting to _that age_ of first real boyfriends and girlfriends and really diving into the teenage years; and Stiles, well Stiles was making friends of his own, outside of the pack- and that was a huge deal.

Stiles met Scott McCall the first day of 7th grade. Scott was sitting somewhere near the middle of the classroom, looking like a lost puppy- long shaggy black hair and huge brown eyes- and if you looked closely enough, his jaw was slightly uneven. He approached the boy with a smile, sliding into the desk next to him.

“Hey there, I’m Stiles- Stiles Stilinski-… wow that sounded way too ‘James Bond’ 007 to be casual, totally not how I wanted this to go down, but uh… just thought I’d come introduce myself… so here I am”, he said, cursing at himself in his head. _Smooth Stiles, nice one. No wonder you don’t have friends._.

The kid gave him a crooked smile and responded, “how do you even talk that fast?”, amazement and underlying amusement coloring his tone. “I’m Scott, Scott McCall”, he added with a smirk.

And that was the exact moment Stiles realized he had found a friend that may just stick around for longer than a few days. The spend the rest of the first half of their day talking- putting minimal effort into actually paying attention to anything their teacher was saying, which would become a trend that would continue throughout their friendship.

At lunch they found a table together and claimed it, idly chatting about other students they had in class.

"But did you _see_ her Scott?! She's a strawberry blond goddess! and those eyes, _god_ \- what's even _worse_ is that she's also basically a genius. How is that even possible? How can a single person be that perfect?", Stiles ranted, hands gesturing animatedly as if he even needed to emphasize his infatuation further.

Scott just smiled, shaking his head. "I don't know dude", he paused taking a bite of his sandwich. "When are you going to talk to her?"

"I... have absolutely no idea", Stiles replied resting his head on his hand, an inquisitive, pondering expression overtaking his features. "But with a girl like that, I'm _definitely_ going to need a plan."

At the end of the day Stiles introduced Scott to his dad, much to the sheriff's surprise. It didn't take long to convince him to give Scott a ride to the hospital to find his mother before the end of her shift.

Both Stiles and the sheriff stopped dead in their tracks as they watched Scott run into the arms of a familiar woman with dark curly hair and a bright smile.

"Mom! Mom! This is my new friend Stiles!", Scott exclaimed, the bright smile on his face mirroring his mother's.

She looked over to the two Stilinski boys, her expression faltering only momentarily "Hello Stiles, John. It's nice to see you again."

Scott followed his mom’s gaze to glance back at them, a confused, curious expression on his face.

“Ms. McCall”, the sheriff greeted with a warm smile and a nod, “it’s been a while. It seems that Stiles and Scott found each other at school and have been fused at the hip all day. Scott can come back with us if that’s alright with you.”

“I wouldn’t mind that at all, but I work the night shift on Mondays… I don’t know how late I’ll be, or what time I’d be able to pick him up”, she replied sending an apologetic look to her son.

“That’s no problem. I’m off duty tonight, and if you get caught up here, we’ve always got a place for him to stay- I take Stiles to school every morning anyway.”

He smiled as some of the tension visibly melted from her shoulders. “That would be extremely helpful. Are you sure you don’t mind?”, Melissa asked somewhat hesitantly.

“Don’t even worry about it”, he replied. It was clear that there was an unspoken conversation going on between the two, beyond anything that had been said. Stiles had a feeling he knew exactly what it was all about, while Scott still remained completely clueless.

“C’mon Scotty boy”, Stiles said patting his shoulder; “We’ve got some things to discuss and some video games to play.”

XXX

“So how do you guys know my mom?”, Scott asked once the two boys had settled in Stiles’ bedroom.

Stiles let out a long sigh, running his hands over his face briefly before sitting down on the bed. “A little over three years ago, my mom was diagnosed with a rare form of Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma- it was very aggressive, and…,” he paused briefly, trying to swallow the lump forming in his throat, “- by the time we found out, she had months; _months_ Scott. Everything was totally _fine_ one day, and then the next it was all falling apart and-“, he stopped mid rant, reminding himself to breathe.

He hadn’t had a panic attack in almost half of a year and didn’t want to screw up his streak now. Scott moved a little closer, softly placing a hand on his shoulder, silently encouraging him to continue. “The last two months or so, she spent all of her time in the hospital; and when I wasn’t at school, I was right there with her. Dad was on duty a lot, so I got to spend a lot of alone time with her. It was really nice, in a terrible sort of way, because of the whole situation… but I soaked every second I could get.”

Scott nodded, keeping his eyes on Stiles the whole time. He wanted Stiles to know he had his full attention, because it was obvious this was not an easy thing for him to talk about.

“Because I was there constantly for almost two months straight, I pretty much know at least half of the staff at the hospital on a first name basis- and that’s where your mom comes in.”, he said looking at Scott briefly before returning his gaze to the floor, “she was one of the three nurses assigned to my mom, so we both got to know her pretty well. Whenever my dad was working and my mom was sleeping, she always made sure to check on me as much as she could. She offered me help, in basically every way- she would make sure I ate at least somewhat regularly, got out of the room every once in a while, even if it was just walking around the fifth floor, and when she had a slow day, she would just sit there and talk to me- about everything or nothing- whatever. Your mom is such a great person Scott, she really is. I was never her responsibility, but for some reason she always made me a priority.”, Stiles finished, a small smile on his face. “That’s how my dad and I know your mom.”

After a few seconds of silence, Stiles looked over at Scott, unable to read the emotions playing out on his face. He knew it was a lot to take in, so he waited.

“Wow…. I-“, Scott shook his head, as if it would slide his thoughts into place, “wow. I remember my mom talking about you, kind of. I remember asking if I could come keep you company a few times, and my mom almost let me, but my _dad_ didn’t think it was appropriate.”, he said almost bitterly, annoyance coloring his tone.

“My dad used to stay with me most of the time when mom was at work- and it was cool for the most part. Now I usually hang out with my mom at the hospital during her shifts.”, he began playing with his fingers, his eyes squinting briefly. “He left us- or, well I guess I should say he’s _leaving_. Almost all of his stuff is gone, and I barely see him anymore…if at all. It’ll be good once he’s gone- I know he makes her unhappy, and that’s the last thing that I want.”

Stiles draped his arm over Scott’s shoulders, pulling him into a sort of side hug. He had known Scott for less than 24 hours, and he had told him more than he had told anyone- even the Hales.

“Now that we’ve had our totally and completely manly man heart-to-heart bro time, how about we play some mindless video games?”

Scott smiled brightly, chuckling at the description Stiles used for the conversation they just had, and set about helping him pick out their games of choice.


	9. Can't get inside your head, threw away the key instead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their eyes met and the room fell silent. Everyone stood watching, almost breathlessly, eagerly waiting to see if either of them would break it.
> 
> "Derek", Stiles said calmly, still holding his gaze.
> 
> "Stiles", Derek replied, Stiles eyes widening in surprise.

### Chapter 9: Can't get inside your head, threw away the key instead

Having Kate around had made Derek isolated and difficult to talk to, but now that she was gone it had only gotten worse. He spent most of his time pent up in the guest room he had claimed for himself, and at school he kept his head down, focusing only on his work.

This _should_ have been one of his best years of his life- looking at colleges, going on dates, spending as much time with his family as possible- taking full advantage of the fact they were all still here and okay- but he just couldn't. Laura, both of his parents, Cora, Melanie, Renee, Richard and even _Peter_ had tried to get him to open up about it, but knowing that his entire family almost died because of _him_ , because he was stubborn and refused to listen to any of their warnings- it just wasn't something he wanted to discuss or think about ever again. It was going to take more than a few months for him to heal, that much was obvious, so they all let it go- for the time being.

As much as Derek never wanted to leave the room he was in ever again, today was an important day; their house was finally finished. It had taken the entire summer, and then about a month on top of that, but it was done; and today they were going home. Everyone had become accustomed to living under the same roof; it felt nice always having the pack together, but it was clear everyone was excited to go back to the home they had called their own for so long.

When the Hales pulled up to the property, everyone wordlessly piled out of the cars and walked to stand a few feet in front of the house, silently taking it in. Talia was the first to move, purposefully walking to the door and opening is slowly before stepping through and holding it open for everyone else to follow. Once they were inside, the children immediately bolted to find their rooms, with the exception of Derek. He walked into the main room stopping in the entryway to look around, as if taking it in for the first time. He lightly brushed his fingertips over the walls as he walked along them, making his way to the staircase. Everyone watched him silently, unnerved by his hesitance and discomfort- it was to be expected, but that didn't make it any less painful to witness.

The reverie of the moment was broken by a knock on the door, startling everyone. The fact that someone had reached the door before they noticed a new presence on the property was rare, and somewhat alarming. Gabriel opened the door, relaxing immediately as Stiles smiled up at him from the other side.

"Hey Mr. Hale", he greeted excitedly.

"Stiles, it's good to see you kiddo", Gabriel replied pulling the boy into a hug, playfully running his hands over his hair in an attempt to mess it up. "How am I supposed to mess your hair up if you don't have any?"

Stiles laughed loudly, immediately brightening the mood, as he stepped into the house, Gabriel shutting the door behind him. He froze in the doorway as his eyes fell on Derek, looking guarded- but still very obvioulsy broken and unsure. Their eyes met and the room fell silent. Everyone stood watching, almost breathlessly, eagerly waiting to see if either of them would break it.

"Derek", Stiles said calmly, still holding his gaze.

"Stiles", Derek replied, Stiles eyes widening in surprise.

His name sounded strange coming out of Derek's mouth as far as Stiles was concerned- this was probably only the third or fourth time he'd heard it, and the shock was clearly written all over his face- which everyone took notice of. Derek grimaced at the sight of it, a twinge of guilt overwhelming him. He didn't want to get close to Stiles, and still wasn't fully comfortable with the boy being around all of the time, but hearing Derek simply say Stiles' _name_ shouldn't evoke a reaction like that, which Derek was now completely aware of and even slightly ashamed of.

Stiles seemed to have the ability to read all of these conflicted emotions that Derek normally hid away, and regained his composure enough to reply. "Do you have a second?"

Which obviously meant, 'do you have a second _to talk_?' which is the last thing Derek wanted, but found himself nodding his head, before clearing his throat and agreeing, "Yeah, sure."

The stutter in Stiles heart was painfully obvious to everyone that could hear it, which only made Derek feel worse. Talia, Gabriel, Renee, Luke and Peter all exchanged glances of surprise. It was no secret that Derek was the only Hale who hadn't accepted the human into the pack- not that he had been officially made pack or anything- and the older Hales had often discussed the boy's reluctance towards Stiles, but had never really been able to agree upon a reason for it. The fact that Derek was now going to _willingly talk_ to the boy, when he refused to talk to everyone else was a surprising development none of them had foreseen, but they welcomed it completely.

Derek began climbing the stairs, and Stiles took that as his cue, following him up, only a few steps behind.

Derek walked into his room, stepping aside to allow Stiles in, and softly shut the door behind him. He walked over to his bed and sat on the edge, resting his forearms on his thighs, his fingers clasped together. Neither of them spoke at first, nor did they look at each other. Stiles let his eyes travel over the walls and the emptiness that surrounded them, urging himself desperately to remember what it had looked like- he had only seen the inside of Derek’s room once before it happened, and now he wishes he had paid more attention. He let his eyes wander over to Derek; he was playing with his fingers, gaze trained on the floor under his feet.

“Look Derek”, Stiles began finally seeming to find his voice. “I know that talking is the last thing you want to do- you’ve blatantly refused to talk to anyone, and the last person you would want to talk to, even if you _did_ want to talk, is me- which is completely obvious- but if you ever do decide you want to talk, or if you just want someone to keep you company while you attempt to glare holes in the wall or whatever it even is that you do,…”, he sighed, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. “It’s just-… I’m here okay? Comforting people is something I’m actually pretty good at- and somehow my specialty is apparently members of the Hale family, which is a category you fall into, so… I guess, that’s all I wanted to say.”

He looked back over at Derek only to find him looking right back. Stiles couldn’t tell what he was thinking, which was nothing new. Derek always had his guard up- his features schooled into a blank expression.

After a few minutes Derek cleared his throat and nodded. Stiles waited to see if he was going to get anything further in response, and wasn’t surprised when he didn’t.

XXX

Derek watched Stiles walk out of the room, shutting the door behind him before groaning to himself and falling back on his bed. Stiles had gone out of his way, like he always does, to make sure he was alright and didn’t try to force him into talking like everyone else had been trying to do. He ran his hands over his face, frustrated with himself. All Stiles ever tried to do was help, and he always did. The Hale family owed a lot of their comfort and happiness to the Stilinski boy, and Derek was well aware of that fact, but he just couldn’t get himself to let his walls down for long enough to let him in like the rest of his family had- and it was driving him _crazy_.

All he wanted right now was to be surrounded by his pack, cuddled into a giant mess of bodies. That always made him feel better, though he was rarely one to admit it- it was just part of being a werewolf, the whole craving closeness to and affection from a pack. That didn’t bother him as much as the fact that he knew it wouldn’t be the same, they wouldn’t reach a complete level of relaxation and feel completely safe unless Stiles was there. The fact that Stiles had become a direct correlation to his ability to relax was what bothered him.

“Graduation needs to hurry the hell up”, he muttered to himself. He needed to get away before he literally went crazy.

XXX

As Stiles reached the bottom of the stairs, he was met with the prying eyes of basically the entire Hale family.

“No, I didn’t actually get him to talk to me, so don’t get your hopes up. I basically talked at him, as usual, but this time he kind of nodded his head, so he was _at least_ pretending to listen to what I was saying for once, so I guess that’s something”, Stiles said with a sigh as he plopped down on the couch between Laura and Cora. They both immediately leaned into him, Laura pulling him closer into her side, resting her head on top of his and Cora placing her arm over his stomach, using his shoulder as a pillow.

“Not that having two extremely attractive young women all over me bothers me or anything, but seriously, why is everyone is the family so prone to the whole ‘invading Stiles’ personal space and using him as a human pillow’ thing?”, Stiles asked.

The girls laughed and Talia chuckled from her spot on the other couch, “It’s a scenting thing. If you smell like someone who isn’t pack, it’s our instinct to scent you so that you smell like us instead. It’s a comfort thing.”, she explained, somewhat vaguely, but the explanation seemed to be enough as Stiles just nodded and settled into his position between the two.

“So spill- whose sent is all over you that we’re trying to cover up?”, Laura asked curiously.

“Most likely Scott. I met him in class about a week ago and we’ve been hanging out pretty much every day since then”, Stiles replied. “I wish I smelled like Lydia though- that would definitely be a lot better.”

“I knew it!”, Cora exclaimed with a smile. “It’s so obvious you’re crushing on her.”

“Pfft, it is so _not_ obvious Cora”, Stiles scoffed.

“Stiles, all you ever do whenever she’s within 20 feet of you, all you do is stare at her; and you do realize that half of the time you’re rambling on about how you can’t believe “such a perfect human being even exists”, I can _hear you_. We do go to school together.”, she replied with a smirk.

“It’s not my fault that she is literally the human embodiment of a goddess alright? She’s ridiculously smart, and beautiful and I totally have a ten year plan to ‘woo’ her.”

“A ten year plan?”, Laura and Cora both said, clearly amused.

“Yes a ten year plan”, he said throwing an un-amused glance at both of them, “and it’s totally going to work, you just wait and see. She’ll start to notice me by the end of the year and we’ll be awesome friends by next year, and then freshman year she’ll notice how irresistible I am. I’ll take her out on a bunch of dates and we’ll do stupidly cute couple-y things, and then we’ll go to prom together both years. After we graduate- both of us with honors obviously- we’ll go off to some Ivy League school and get a crappy apartment together until we graduate, after which we will both end up with amazing jobs and a lovely home to raise our children in.”, Stiles explained.

The three women all looked at him with fond grins on their faces, shaking their heads.

“Only you Stiles”, Cora said. “Only you.”


	10. Ever since you came, I will never be the same

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm going to miss him, a lot.", Anna Lee said with a sigh, leaning up against the wall next to Stiles. He nodded absent-mindedly, watching him from across the room.
> 
> "Oh yeah, totally don't know what I'm going to do without him here to ignore me and burn holes into my soul with that glare he's got mastered", Stiles replied with a small smirk.
> 
> Anna Lee elbowed him playfully and laughed. "You know you love him."
> 
> "He's a Hale, of course I love him- even if my existence is the bane of his.", he answered. For once she couldn't really tell what he was thinking or identify the emotion in his voice.

### Chapter 10: Ever since you came, I will never be the same

"OH MY GOD DEREK!", Laura squealed, jumping into his arms.

He laughed and caught her, spinning them both around in circles. Everyone watched in amusement, enjoying this rare moment of public affection between the two. Talia and Gabriel often worried about the twins; they were both incredibly strong mentally and physically, but emotionally they were still children. Being born werewolves and adjusting to society was often too much for children and young adults emotionally, and the twins had been coping well- until Kate came along. She messed with Derek in ways they knew, even as his parents, that they would never be able to understand.

"I'm assuming you were both accepted then?", Peter asked with a sly smile.

"Yes! And not only that but I got a ridiculous scholarship! And Derek- well, Derek has some pretty amazing news too", she exclaimed, practically glowing. Everyone's attention shifted to Derek expectedly.

His eyes widened slightly and he cleared his throat, "Well, I uh- I got a full ride... and I've been accepted into the honors program."

"Derek, that's incredible!", Cora gushed, smiling brightly. She ran over and tackled him in a hug, which resulted in a giant group hug that he welcomed completely.

When the children finally pried themselves off of him, Renee and Robert engaged him in conversation about what major he wanted to go into and basically anything else he was willing to share.

"I'm going to miss him, a lot.” Anna Lee said with a sigh, leaning up against the wall next to Stiles. He nodded absent-mindedly, watching him from across the room.

"Oh yeah, totally don't know what I'm going to do without him here to ignore me and burn holes into my soul with that glare he's got mastered", Stiles replied with a small smirk.

Anna Lee elbowed him playfully and laughed. "You know you love him."

"He's a Hale, of course I love him- even if my existence is the bane of his.", he answered. For once she couldn't really tell what he was thinking or identify the emotion in his voice.

"I know he's terrible at showing it, but he _does_ actually care.", she offered trying to gage his reaction; she put her arm around him, pulling Stiles into her side when she didn't get one.

XXX

Deciding where to go to college was a big deal for anyone, especially fresh out of high school- but for Laura and Derek it was even more of a challenge. It was clear that they both wanted to go out of state, and everyone had expected as much, but the twins often found themselves having late night conversations about their fears and doubts of being so far away from their pack- from their family. Werewolves naturally craved the closeness of other werewolves, their packs especially if they belonged to one; and the instinct was significantly stronger for young werewolves still in their developmental stages.

“It’s going to be tough- we’ve always know that… but I think it’ll be worth it, y’know? It’s a great school… and it’s not like we’re going to be _completely_ separated from pack- we’ll have each other”, Laura said before flopping backwards on Derek’s bed.  
He sighed and laid down next to her, both of them staring at the ceiling. “It’s just such a big change Laura. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m excited and I definitely want to go- but _Christ_ it’s New York City. It’s so-“

“I know D”, she cut him off, a smile spreading across her face. She did know. The two of them had talked about going to college in New York together since they were freshman- maybe even before then. Now that it was actually going to become a reality, they were both anxious and overwhelmed; and excited beyond belief.

The two of them stayed up until the sun rose the next morning just talking- about everything; little things, important things, memories they hadn’t spoken of in years. Laura soaked up every second of it, as she had learned a long time ago that moments like this with Derek were not ones to take for granted. He wasn’t one to just offer them up, and when he did it wasn’t something to be taken lightly.

XXX

Anna Lee, Daniel and Stiles sat on the front steps, watching the usual Wednesday afternoon training session as they always did.

"C'mon Lee, there's _no way_ that your dad would beat Mrs. Hale in a fight. I mean, your dad is awesome, but there's just no way.", Stiles said.

After a moment of consideration, she nodded her head slowly, "Yeah, I guess you're right. She _is_ the alpha, so that makes sense."

Silence settled around them for a few moments, their attention caught up in the trained combat going on a few yards ahead of them.

"Do you guys ever wish you were born werewolves?", Stiles asked. He had always been curious but had never been able to bring himself to ask.

"Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't", Daniel began. "I mean, it feels weird _not_ being a werewolf on days like this- when everyone else in the family is training- or on days when the other kids are going through changes that I never will... it's not really something that bothers me as much as it used to."

"Why is that?", Stiles replied quirking an eyebrow.

"Because of you.", he answered without missing a beat. "You showed up, completely human and just- just fit right in, y'know? You keep everyone on their toes and you never have any problems keeping up. You made it feel more... _normal_ I guess, to be human around here."

Stiles stared it him, his mouth hanging open slightly. He wasn't sure what kind of answer he was expecting, but that definitely wasn't it. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, hoping words would just start spilling out like they normally tend to do- but for once he was actually rendered speechless.

"Who broke Stiles?", Christian asked with an amused grin, bringing Stiles out of his thoughts and back to the present.

"What about breaking Stiles?", Renee cut in, as she walked up to the group, wiping the sweat from her neck with a towel.

"No! No one is allowed to break my Stiles!", Elizabeth interrupted, launching herself into his arms and clinging to him tightly.

He laughed and hugged her back just as fiercely. "Thank you Liz. It's good to know you'll always be here to protect me against the big bad humans."

Anna Lee rolled her eyes, a fond smile on her face. Stiles stuck his tongue out and hugged the young girl tighter, eliciting a laugh from everyone.

Derek, Christian and Robert stood a few feet away, unobtrusively observing. Robert laughed loudly, shaking his head as he watched his daughter tackle Stiles and latch onto him- she didn't know her own strength yet, which was common in young werewolves.

"She really adores him", Christian said, breaking the silence," I guess you can't really blame her though. He treats her like a princess."

"I don't know how we got so lucky", Robert replied. "It's not often a human boy stumbles into a pack and not only fits into the pack, but also makes everyone better."

"Having him around definitely has an affect on the girls of the pack, that much is obvious.", Christian added.

"Daniel has been less anxious since he's been around, and your relationship with your sister has improved", Robert said, "Derek however, I've yet to figure out.", he finished with a curious expression, glancing over at the boy.

Derek crossed his arms over his chest, the schooled expression void of any emotions still on his face. "There's nothing to figure out."

A loud laugh escaped Robert's lips before he could stop it and he quickly covered his mouth with his hand. Christian bit his lip, trying to hold in a laugh of his own. It was obvious that there was definitely _something_ \- Derek didn't just shut people out for no reason; sure, it was more difficult for him to trust people, but Stiles had come into his life before Kate had happened. No one understood what was keeping him from allowing Stiles in like everyone else had, and it was a frequent topic of conversation between almost every member of the Hale family.

"Say what you will, or won't in your case, but you've made your reluctance to get close to Stiles- hell, to even _talk_ to Stiles- abundantly clear Derek. That's not even a question anymore; the question is _why_? That's what none of us have been able to figure out." Robert said, looking at Derek raising an eyebrow, almost as if asking he was asking to be challenged.

"You- you wouldn't _understand_ ", he gritted out, looking like it was almost physically painful for him to say those words.

The playfulness in Robert's expression had disappeared, concern and bewilderment taking it's place. With Derek it was unusual to actually to a response when presented with a jab like that, even a seemingly harmless one.

His eyes scanned over the boy's face slowly and he nodded before softly replying, "Fair enough."

Because it was. Robert of all people knew that forcing someone to do anything- even if it was just talking- never made things better. Derek would deal with it his own way, when he was ready to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys, so for the next chapter I'm depending on you guys; do you want me to write more about Derek and Laura's senior year and stuff that happens before they leave for college, _or_ do you want me to skip to graduation and start getting into after Derek and Laura leave and what starting high school is like for Scott and Stiles and all that?
> 
> I don't mind writing more if you guys want more, but I also don't want to drag it out if you guys want to move past this and go forward a bit more. Let me know what you guys think, and thanks for reading! (:  
> As always, comments/questions/criticism welcome!


	11. Break me into pieces, you are my weakness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today was the first day of school- but it wasn’t just _any_ first day, it was Stiles, Scott, Daniel and Cora’s first day of high school. Stiles was anxious pretty much all the time, uncontained excess energy bouncing off of him almost constantly; but today he was nervous. He knew Cora would be able to smell it on him as soon as he stepped within ten feet of her, scrunching her nose up at the potency. Just the thought of it made him laugh and relax slightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got such an overwhelmingly amazing amount of feedback on that last chapter, so thank you guys so much for that! You definitely helped me decide where to take this chapter and I was actually really inspired to write it, which is awesome.  
> You all are wonderful <3

### Chapter 11: Break me into pieces, you are my weakness

Stiles groaned burying his face in his pillow. He blindly flailed his arm, smacking his night stand in a lazy attempt to shut off the alarm that had awoken him. He rolled onto his back, running his hands over his face and sighed.

He heard a knock on his door, indicating that his dad was awake. “We’re leaving in twenty”, the sheriff said as he peaked his head into the room.

Stiles grunted in acknowledgement, eliciting a chuckle from his dad as he quietly shut the door behind him and headed down the hall.

Today was the first day of school- but it wasn’t just _any_ first day, it was Stiles, Scott, Daniel and Cora’s first day of high school. Stiles was anxious pretty much all the time, uncontained excess energy bouncing off of him almost constantly; but today he was nervous. He knew Cora would be able to smell it on him as soon as he stepped within ten feet of her, scrunching her nose up at the potency. Just the thought of it made him laugh and relax slightly. 

He dressed quickly, throwing on a baggy pair of jeans, a loose fitting T-shirt and a zip-up hoodie before heading downstairs. He quickly made breakfast for his dad and himself, rolling his eyes at his dad’s continued protests that he wanted bacon instead of the “healthy crap” Stiles always insisted on feeding him. They ate quickly and placed their dishes in the sink before grabbing their things and heading out to the cruiser.

XXX

Stepping into the hallways of Beacon Hills high school that first day was intimidating. As soon anyone walked through the front doors, hundreds of eyes studied them- all of the students curious and unabashedly ready to label and sort people they hadn’t even spoken to, deciding whether they like them or not in an instant.

It didn’t take long for Stiles to pick out Scott in the crowd, rushing to his side immediately once he did. Scott laughed at the obvious relief Stiles felt and pulled him into a hug. A few minutes later they found Daniel and Cora and the four of them headed to the auditorium lobby to retrieve their schedules.

XXX

“They put me in chemistry honors _and_ algebra 3-4 as a freshman? Someone just kill me”, Daniel whined trying to glare a hole through his schedule.

“Dude that’s rough; they only put me in algebra 1-2 and my brain already hurts.” Scott replied with a shudder.

“Stiles, you’re being way too quiet- what’s wrong?” Cora asked eyeing him wearily.

Scott and Daniel turned to look at Stiles, noticing for the first time that he was staring at his schedule like it had personally offended him, holding it a little too tightly to be natural.

“I- I have to call Laura”, he stuttered out, looking pained. He cleared his throat and excused himself to find the nearest bathroom.

He locked in one of the stalls trying to calm his breathing, and reached into his pocket to grab his phone. His hands were shaking, almost causing him to drop the phone as he searched frantically for her name.

“Please pick up, please please please”, he muttered to himself, bouncing on the balls of his feet anxiously.

“Stiles?”, he heard through the speaker after what felt like an eternity . He let out a gust of air, realising he hadn’t been breathing.

“Thank god”, he said letting out a nervous laugh. “Laura my first class hasn’t even started yet and I can’t do this.”

“Hey, it’s okay. Just breathe for me, alright? I can practically _feel_ your heartbeat from across the country”, she soothed, trying to keep her voice as calming in tone as possible. “Tell me what happened.”

Stiles let out a shaky breath, running a hand over his face. “They- they put me in a drawing class Laura - _a drawing class_.” he replied, trying to focus on swallowing the panic attack he could feel rising in his chest. “I didn’t even put any art classes on my schedule , _at all_ ; not even as my last choice SOL classes.”

As soon as he had seen Drawing 1-2 on his schedule, Stiles knew he had to call Laura- she was the only one besides his dad who would understand, and calling his dad was _not_ an option. Laura was like the older sister that he never had. He found himself venting to her, telling her things he didn’t share with _anyone_ \- specifically things about his mom. Stiles didn’t talk about her often, but when he did it was either to Scott or Laura- most of the time it was Laura.

Claudia Stilinski had been an artist- she even had a rented studio space in town where she taught classes every week. Her paintings used to be everywhere in the Stilinski home- now they collected dust somewhere in the garage. The point was, Claudia was always sketching or painting, and the thought of having to sit in a class and draw everyday was terrifying to Stiles. He hadn’t revisited that part of his life since she passed, and just thinking about it almost sent him into a full-fledged panic attack in the middle of the hallway.

“Alright, look- it’ll be fine. You can ask to go to the counseling office and try to get it switched for a different class- it shouldn’t be a problem if you explain the circumstances….”

“But?”, Stiles prompted, knowing Laura all too well.

Laura paused, hesitating slightly. “But….”, she sighed. “I don’t think that you should.”

Stiles opened his mouth to protest and Laura immediately cut him off. “Just listen for a second. I know that taking that class is the last thing that you want to do, because it’s going to bring back memories and it’s going to be difficult and uncomfortable, but I think it could be good for you. You’ve pushed away dealing with this and thinking about it for so long- maybe that’s not what you need anymore.” she said softly, a hint of uncertainty in her tone.

He rested his head against one of the walls, closing his eyes as he let Laura’s words sink in. “I hate it when you’re right.” he replied affectionately after a few minutes, startling a laugh out of the older girl.

“I miss you too.”

“What am I going to do without you for two years Laura? It’s been two _months_ and I’m already falling apart”, he remarked playfully, trying to mask the distress he felt at the truth of the statement he had just spoken.

“You’ve got Anna Lee and Elizabeth- you know they love you; and even though Cora may not be so great at showing it- which is completely Derek’s fault, I blame all emotionally communicative constipation in this family entirely on him- she would go to the ends of the earth for you. If you need someone to talk to, Cora wouldn’t mind. You’re like her slightly older adopted brother that she doesn’t detest as much as Derek”, Laura assured.

Stiles laughed and nodded his head, feeling slightly less tense. “You always know exactly what to say.”

“It’s a gift.” she quipped. He could _hear_ the smirk in her voice.

He finished his phone call with Laura and exited the bathroom. walking back to where he had last seen Scott, Daniel and Cora, hoping they would still be there.

When he approached the group they looked at him with concern written all over their faces, which he could only really blame himself for.

“Hey Cora, can- can I talk to you for a second?” Stiles asked, rubbing the back of his neck and licking his lips.

Looking slightly taken aback she replied, “Uhm- yeah. yeah, of course.”

Scott and Daniel took that as their cue, nodding in acknowledgement and leaving the two to talk.

“About what happened earlier, back there… I just…”, he sighed, his brow furrowing in concentration as he tried to find the right words. “Laura is pretty much the only person that I talk to about my mom- and, my mom was an artist- a wonderful, passionate artist- and to be surrounded by that… it was beautiful.”, he began with obvious difficulty. “But now, now her work isn’t even in the house- we can’t even _look_ at it anymore. I’ve pushed it to the back of my mind for so long, and then they go and put me in a drawing class and- just _thinking_ about it, I couldn’t _breathe_ , how the hell am I supposed to survive actually being in the class?”, he asked rhetorically, his voice breaking.

Cora’s eyes widened, realization hitting her. Her mouth was hanging open slightly as a look of understanding overtook her features. She slowly pulled Stiles into her arms, and instantly felt him wrap his arms around her in response. He rested his chin on the top her head, breathing deeply.

“Can I see your schedule?”, she requested quietly, almost in a whisper.

He pulled away from her briefly, fishing it out of his pocket and offering it to her. The corners of her mouth curled upwards slightly as she scanned over it. “We have that class together.”

“Oh thank god.”, he breathed out in relief, pulling Cora back into his arms. She smiled against him and hugged him tightly.

“I know I’m not Laura, but I’m always here for you Stiles- even though you’re completely in denial about Luke Skywalker.”, Cora said. Even though there was a lighthearted inside joke thrown in there and Laura teased her for being a younger Derek when it came to expressing emotions, he could hear the sincerity in her voice, and it was actually choking him up. He wanted to say that it didn’t _matter_ that she wasn’t Laura; that she didn’t have to be Laura, because being Cora was more than enough- but he just couldn’t get the words out. What he did to deserve having the Hale family in his life he had no idea, but he was thankful for it more and more everyday.

XXX  
After the morning he had, Stiles didn’t really think the day could get much worse, but then he saw _her_ and it was all shot to hell.

Normally, seeing Lydia Martin would make his day exponentially better; however, seeing her on the arm of some guy who could easily pass as a Hollister model put a bit of a damper on that.

Stiles let out a frustrated growl, his head falling onto the table with an audible ‘thunk’.

“They could just be friends y’know.” Daniel offered, popping a french fry into his mouth.

“Daniel. There is no way a girl, especially one as perfect as Lydia Martin, would ever _just be friends_ with a guy who looks like he just walked off of a freaking runway”, Stiles said exasperatedly.

“He does make a good point.”, Cora conceded.

“See, Cora knows what I’m talking about.”, Stiles replied, propping his head on his hand.

“I was just trying to be supportive dude- _obviously_ no one is going to turn Jackson down.”, Daniel smirked.

“It’s those damn cheekbones.”, Stiles said, his eyes widening in realization. “He probably has ridiculous abs too oh my god you guys he’s going to destroy us at lacrosse tryouts. There will be nothing left of me but a puddle in the middle of the field”, he ranted, gesturing wildly.

Cora chuckled and rolled her eyes and took a bite of her sandwich. This was going to be a very interesting year.


	12. I made for light conversation and nothing more

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "All is well except for the fact that Stiles basically had the worst first day of high school possible."
> 
> Derek tensed slightly, "Was it really _that_ bad?", he asked, not completely convinced.
> 
> "He called me from the bathroom this morning before classes even started, and I had to talk him out of a full-on panic attack Derek- and that's only what he had to deal with _before_ the day actually started."
> 
> "A panic attack?", Derek's eyes widened, realizing the severity of the situation. "- but he hasn't had one since-"
> 
> "I know Derek, I know. Like I said, it was pretty bad.", Laura replied, messaging her temples.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it has taken me a while to update guys, I've been super busy with work and I went to a Josh Groban concert a few days ago and it was the best night of my life and then on top of that he tweeted me, so I've been trying to recover from that enough to write properly. ANYWAY, thank you for being patient, and I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter because reasons.

### Chapter Twelve: I made for light conversation and nothing more

Laura re-adjusted her position on the couch as she responded, "So wait, you're telling me things actually got _worse_?

"That's exactly what I'm saying. I feel so bad for him Laura. It's like he just can't catch a break- I mean, I'm glad I'm at least in the art class with him so I can _try_ to help but-," she paused, sighing. "I just don't know."

"Well, hopefully things will start to calm down a little bit after the first week passes and you guys start to get the hang of things. I know I can't be there, but I'll always pick up the phone if I'm not in class- hell, I'll probably pick it up even if I _am_ in class if it's one of you guys.", Laura replied.

"I know, it just really sucks not having you here."

"I miss you guys too y'know."

"You'd better," Cora quipped playfully. "You and D all settled in?"

"Yeah, it's actually pretty nice. It's not home, but it could be a lot worse- like exponentially worse.", Laura answered with a glance around the room.

"Well that's good. I should probably go, but send Derek my love."

"Will do. Tell everyone we miss them ridiculously."

"Of course, talk to you later."

"Love you."

"Love you too Laura."

Laura removed the phone from between her shoulder and ear and ended the call letting out a small sigh, just as Derek walked into the room.

"Everything alright back home?", he asked, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"All is well except for the fact that Stiles basically had the worst first day of high school possible."

Derek tensed slightly, "Was it really _that_ bad?", he asked, not completely convinced.

"He called me from the bathroom this morning before classes even started, and I had to talk him out of a full-on panic attack Derek- and that's only what he had to deal with _before_ the day actually started."

"A panic attack?", Derek's eyes widened, realizing the severity of the situation. "- but he hasn't had one since-"

"I know Derek, I know. Like I said, it was pretty bad.", Laura replied, messaging her temples.

"How's he doing now, any better?", Derek asked as he walked into the small kitchen.

Laura raised her eyebrows, looking at him pointedly.

"Don't give me that look Laura", he said exasperatedly.

Her expression of surprised turned into a satisfied smirk. "It's just nice to actually _hear_ that you _care_ every once in a while D."

"Of course I _care_ ; you know that I do. He's a part of the pack.", he said looking slightly uncomfortable.

"C'mon Derek, would it really kill you to admit it?", Laura scoffed, standing from her spot on the couch.

"And what exactly is it I'm supposed to be admitting to?", he challenged, crossing his arms over his chest.

Laura walked to stand in front of him, mirroring his pose. "You like him Derek, I know that you do. You've been distant emotionally for a while now, and it's understandable okay, I get it- _we_ all know that you care because we're family and we know you better than that, but _he_ doesn't. The poor kid probably thinks that you hate him, and to us it's really obvious that you don't- you would have made it perfectly clear if you weren't okay with him being around."

The twins held eye contact for a few minutes, just staring. Laura was the first to break, shaking her head. "I'll be in my room working on a project.", she said dismissively, before turning and walking down the hall.

Derek ran his hands over his face, breathing deeply. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket as he walked over to the couch, sitting in the spot previously occupied by Laura. He scrolled through his contacts, groaning internally as he pressed the 'call' button. Letting his head fall back against the cushion, he bounced his leg anxiously as the phone began to ring.

After the third or fourth ring, he heard the 'click' that meant someone was picking up. "Talk to me", the all too familiar voice quipped in greeting.

"Stiles, it's Derek", he replied, already regretting his decision to call the boy.

"Derek?", the younger boy asked in a tone of shock and disbelief. "Uh- hey. Is everything alright? I don't usually hear from you... unless something happened? wait, did something happen?!", he asked becoming slightly frantic. "Did something happen to Laura?! Is she okay?! I literally _just_ talked to her this morning-"

"Stiles, everything’s fine; Laura's fine.", Derek interrupted. "I actually was just calling..to... see if you're okay?", he asked awkwardly, clearing his throat. "Laura told me she talked to you this morning and that today was kind of a tough day... so...", he paused, unsure of how he was supposed to do this. "...are you, uh.. doing any better?"

All Derek could hear was silence on the line for about a minute, he almost thought Stiles had hung up, when he finally began to speak. "Oh, uh... yeah, I'm uh... I'm doing alright. Today kind of sucked, a lot actually... but I'll be fine. I've got Cora, and Scott, Daniel, Lee... and Laura said I can always call her..."

Derek nodded, well aware Stiles couldn't see him. "You've got plenty of people who care about you there that'll offer help if you need it.... the first day always kind of sucks though, so try not to worry too much. It tends to get better, just stick with the right people and try to join some clubs... Don't piss too many teachers off- I know you're going to be tempted to because you don't know how to think about things _before _you say them..." Derek paused, trying to gather his thoughts briefly. "Look, you're a smart kid alright- you'll figure it all out, but even you need more than just one day to do that."__

"I can't make any promises about the whole 'not pissing teachers off' concept, but that's probably a good goal to shoot for...", he replied in an amused tone.

Derek felt himself smirk slightly. "I had a feeling that was going to be a challenge for you." He caught himself, evening out his features. "I know you've got Cora, and Anna Lee, Christian, Daniel, Scott, Lizzie, Laura.. even my parents... but uh, if you need anything, I'm just a phone call away too."

"Wow- well... I, uh. Thanks Derek.", Stiles stuttered out, clearly not expecting it.

"It's uh- it's no problem. I should probably get going, I've got some stuff I need to work on.. but, just- take care of yourself.", the older boy replied.

"Yeah, alright. I will. You too, take care of yourself I mean; and Laura."

"Always." Derek affirmed.

"Good, because I'd probably have to kick your ass if anything happened to her.", Stiles threatened sarcastically- but Derek knew the sentiment was there under the sarcasm, like it always was with Stiles.

"Yeah, you and everyone else in the pack."

Stiles laughed loudly. "Seriously Derek, you two be careful. I expect you both back unharmed when you visit, which better be soon because I'm already going crazy and it's been like two months."

Despite himself, Derek smiled. "I promise Stiles, we will both be back as soon as we can, unharmed." he replied, letting a teasing tone slip into his voice.

"Good. Later Derek."

"Bye Stiles."

Derek removed the phone from his ear and ended the call.

"I'm proud of you y'know", Laura said startling him back to reality. He glanced over to see her leaning against the wall with a smile on her face.

"You better be, because that was the most awkward conversation I've ever had to force in my life." He replied almost whining.

"That's your own fault. If you had actually made any efforts to talk to him before now instead of just scowling at him from across the room, it probably wouldn't be quite so awkward.", she pointed out.

"Shut up", he said chucking one of the couch pillows at her. She caught it easily, rolling her eyes fondly.

"So, what do you want to do about dinner?"

XXX

Stiles sighed heavily, dramatically throwing himself down on the couch. He groaned loudly as he felt a weight on his back.  
“Cora, if that’s you I swear to god”, he mumbled against the couch cushions.

“I just got off the phone with Laura, her and Derek send their love.”, she said from her position on his back, completely ignoring his feeble attempt at a threat.

Stiles just groaned again and Cora rolled her eyes, sliding off of the boy and onto the couch next to him. He pulled himself up to a sitting position just as his phone began to vibrate.

. "Talk to me", he answered in greeting without looking at the caller, figuring it was Scott or his dad.

"Stiles, it's Derek", he heard in reply.

"Derek?", he asked, looking over at Cora with a surprised expression, only to find she was in just as much disbelief as he was. "Uh- hey. Is everything alright? I don't usually hear from you... unless something happened? wait, did something happen?!", he asked becoming slightly frantic. "Did something happen to Laura?! Is she okay?! I literally _just_ talked to her this morning-"

"Stiles, everything’s fine; Laura's fine.", Derek interrupted. "I actually was just calling..to... see if you're okay?", he asked awkwardly, clearing his throat. "Laura told me she talked to you this morning and that today was kind of a tough day... so...", Stiles heard him pause briefly, as if he really didn't even know why he was calling. "...are you, uh.. doing any better?"

Stiles was stunned into silence momentarily, before finding his voice again. "Oh, uh... yeah, I'm uh... I'm doing alright. Today kind of sucked, a lot actually... but I'll be fine. I've got Cora, and Scott, Daniel, Lee... and Laura said I can always call her..."

"You've got plenty of people who care about you there that'll offer help if you need it.... the first day always kind of sucks though, so try not to worry too much. It tends to get better, just stick with the right people and try to join some clubs... Don't piss too many teachers off- I know you're going to be tempted to because you don't know how to think about things _before _you say them..." Derek paused.. "Look, you're a smart kid alright- you'll figure it all out, but even you need more than just one day to do that."__

"I can't make any promises about the whole 'not pissing teachers off' concept, but that's probably a good goal to shoot for...", Stiles found himself saying, trying to seem more amused than stunned. Derek had just complimented him, given him advice, and teasing him non-menacingly in less than a minute- and that’s more than he had gotten from the older boy in _years_.

"I had a feeling that was going to be a challenge for you." Derek quipped. Stiles felt himself smirking. "I know you've got Cora, and Anna Lee, Christian, Daniel, Scott, Lizzie, Laura.. even my parents... but uh, if you need anything, I'm just a phone call away too."

"Wow- well... I, uh. Thanks Derek.", He stuttered out, clearly not expecting it. Derek was just full of surprises today.

"It's uh- it's no problem. I should probably get going, I've got some stuff I need to work on.. but, just- take care of yourself.", the older boy replied.

"Yeah, alright. I will. You too, take care of yourself I mean; and Laura."

"Always." Derek affirmed.

"Good, because I'd probably have to kick your ass if anything happened to her.", Stiles threatened sarcastically- but he meant it, and he knew Derek _knew_ that he meant it- and that he would never let anything happen to Laura.

"Yeah, you and everyone else in the pack."

Stiles laughed loudly. "Seriously Derek, you two be careful. I expect you both back unharmed when you visit, which better be soon because I'm already going crazy and it's been like two months."

"I promise Stiles, we will both be back as soon as we can, unharmed." he replied, letting a teasing tone slip into his voice.

"Good. Later Derek."

"Bye Stiles."

Stiles ended the call and looked over at Cora, a surprised expression still on his face. “You heard all of that right? That _actually_ just happened? Your emotionally stunted, glaringly unsocial older brother just went _out of his way_ to call me from _across the country_ , and then was nice to me and offered me advice- and…. Please tell me you heard all of that because no one will ever believe me.”

“Oh I definitely heard it, I just don’t know if I believe it myself.”, Cora replied.

“Today has been the strangest day I’ve had in a very long time- and it’s only the first day of my high school career. This does not seem very promising.”, Stiles observed, leaning his head back onto the couch.

“Well, at least we know it’s going to be interesting- never boring.”, Cora offered. Stiles could only nod his head in agreement.


	13. I just wanna be your company

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Dude”, Scott said suddenly, his eyes blown wide. Stiles followed his line of sight and was met by a tall, slender brunette girl with long hair and legs for days- topped off with a bright smile that lit up her face and shined through her eyes.
> 
> “Who is that and why have I never seen her before?”, Scott continued.
> 
> “I don’t know; what I do know is that you need to go talk to her- like right now.”, Stiles replied.

### Chapter Thirteen: I just wanna be your company

The second day had been less hectic than the first by far, but no less interesting. Cora sat next to Stiles during their drawing class, making sure to keep a comforting hand on him at all times. Stiles had fumbled his way through P.E., while Scott had breezed through only slightly more gracefully.

“Dude”, Scott said suddenly, his eyes blown wide. Stiles followed his line of sight and was met by a tall, slender brunette girl with long hair and legs for days- topped off with a bright smile that lit up her face and shined through her eyes.

“Who is that and why have I never seen her before?”, Scott continued.

“I don’t know; what I do know is that you need to go talk to her- like right now.”, Stiles replied.

“No way, what would I even say to her!?”, Scott argued.

“Seriously? You’re asking me? How would I have any idea what to say to a girl in this situation Scott?”, Stiles asked gesturing wildly.

Scott just shrugged, turning his gaze back to the girl. He spent the rest of the class period staring at her, and Stiles knew his best friend was already crushing hard.

At lunch they saw her sit at the same table as Lydia and Jackson.

“She’s here _one day_ and she’s already sitting with the popular crowd.”, Stiles said incredulously. “How the hell does that work?”

“I have no idea”, Scott replied, still completely entranced.

XXX

After school Scott and Stiles headed to the locker room. Stiles groaned in annoyance when he saw Jackson was already there. It was the first day of lacrosse tryouts and he was determined to be on the team. The boys began changing and Stiles listened, mostly, while Scott droned on about this new mystery girl.

“Hey guys”, Christian said approaching them. He had been on the team since his freshman year. That, along with being a Hale, gained him a fair amount of popularity.

“You nervous about tryouts?”, the older boy asked, leaning up against the lockers next to them.

“Well, seeing as I can’t even walk down the hallway without tripping over the giant piles of absolutely nothing, and given the fact that I almost died like three separate times during P.E. this morning, I really see no reason to feel like I’m going to fail miserably.” Stile said sarcastically.

Christian laughed and ruffled his hands through the little hair Stiles had. “You’ll be fine, don’t sweat it.”

Their conversation was interrupted when Coach Finstock walked into the room, screaming and yelling about something that didn’t actually make any sense- which wasn’t out of the ordinary for anyone used to being around him.

“Listen up ladies. It’s the first day of tryouts, and as you all know just because you were on the team last year or the year before that does not guarantee you a spot. Remember- There are three rules that I live by: never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city; and never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body. Now you stick to that, and everything else is cream cheese.”

Christian rolled his eyes, clearly used to these rants never really going anywhere, while Stiles looked at Scott with an amused expression, and Scott looking back at him looking like a confused puppy.

By the time the first day of tryouts had ended, Coach had already sent a handful of people home, telling them not to bother coming back the next day, and Stiles was very surprised to find he was not one of those people. He had flailed his way through the drills, tripping over his own feet more than once during the scrimmage, and he was lanky and awkward in ever sense of the word- but despite all of this he was safe for another day. Scott, Jackson, Christian and this kid named Danny that Jackson hung around had also made it to the next round- unsurprisingly as far as Stiles was concerned.

Stiles snagged a ride with Christian, Daniel, Anna Lee and Cora back to the Hale house afterwards to work with Christian on some techniques for the next round of tryouts. Stiles had already been sore, but after the older Hale boy was done with him Stiles didn’t think he would ever move again. Talia laughed as he said as much, collapsing on the couch.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you engage in this much physical activity Stiles”, Talia remarked with a teasing smirk.

“I must admit I was surprised when I heard you were trying out”, Gabriel said in agreement.

“Yeah well I knew Scott was going to try out, and I mean c’mon. We all know he wouldn’t survive the practices and games without me.”, Stiles replied.

Talia and Gabriel just shook their heads chuckling.

“Besides, Derek said it was a good idea to try to join clubs and sports and surround myself with good people, which despite the source seemed like pretty solid advice- and as much as angering him from all the way across the country is tempting, the sourwolf actually went out of his way to be helpful and y’know, do more than just glare at me, so I figured that must be some sort of sign.”, Stiles explained.

“Did you just refer to my son as ‘sourwolf’?” Talia asked, biting back a laugh.

“I did. I feel like it’s a fitting nickname”, he said with a shrug.

“You know he’d find a way to scowl at you even more than he does now if he knew you called him that.”, Cora said with a laugh, walking into the room.

“First of all, that’s the first time I’ve ever actually called him that- secondly, the whole super werewolf hearing thing still creeps me out. Why do I have a feeling you’ve heard our whole conversation?”, Stiles replied.

Cora just rolled her eyes and sat down next to him. “I still can’t believe Derek actually called you. Laura said he did it all on his own too. I mean, she did kind of tear into him for not being very welcoming, but she definitely didn’t expect him to actually reach out to you.”

“I told you guys I’d get through to him eventually. I’m just irresistible.”, Stiles said with a smirk.

“I don’t know if ‘irresistible’ is the right word- maybe more along the lines of ‘infallibly persistent’. It’s pretty much impossible to ignore you after a while.”, Christian teased, walking down the stairs.

“Seriously, is everyone in this house just listening in on the conversation?”, Stiles asked with a dramatic gesture.

“How are you not used to that by now? I thought better of you Stiles.” Peter teased with a smirk, emerging from what seemed like practically nowhere.

“Where the hell did you even just- y’know what, never mind. And, as flattering as that is, I’m just going to point out the whole ‘not a werewolf thing’ because apparently no one remembers that nothing you guys do is normal to someone not born into this.”, Stiles replied.

Cora just smacked him with a pillow, as if that explained everything, and they all fell into comfortable conversation.

XXX

At lunch the next day, Stiles nearly choked on the food he was attempting to eat as he saw Anna Lee and Christian walk over to the table that Lydia, Jackson and Scott’s mystery girl were sitting at, and after a few words were exchanged, sat down to join them.

Lee caught his gaze from across the room and sent him a wink and a small smirk. Whatever she was up to, Stiles liked it already. If she was able to get close to Lydia and the other girl, it could mean very good things for him and Scott.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for all of the continued feedback! It's very much appreciated, as it lets me know that you guys are still enjoying where I'm taking the story, so please keep that up! If you have any questions/comments/suggestions, I'm open to all of them.


	14. But I'm battling a heavy heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rest if the day passed by in a blur- he couldn't even tell you what had happened if he wanted to. All that Stiles knew was various members of the family had taken turns going in to see her- and he hadn't been one of them.
> 
> He was pulled out of his thoughts again when Laura and Derek appeared in the doorway of the waiting room. They immediately ran over to Luke, Melanie and Christian, hugging them with an intensity Stiles had become accustomed to the last few hours. After sharing a few private words- as private as they could be surrounded by a group of werewolves- he watched Laura and Derek make their way into the room she was in, and let his head fall into his hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! I know it's been a while since I've updated- I apologize. I've been sick two different times in the past two weeks, and I've been trying to plan a trip and I've been working a lot, so I've had quite a bit going on.  
> This chapter was a bit difficult to get out and I don't feel like it's really my best work, but I hope you guys enjoy it anyway. Thanks for being patient and please let me know what you think.
> 
> ALSO, I don't know whether you guys care or not, but I have posted a [character reference](http://righteouspumpernickel.tumblr.com/post/64980137113) of how I picture the characters looking at this point.

### Chapter 14: But I'm battling a heavy heart

Laura groaned, lazily rolling over as she blindly reached for her phone. She didn't know exactly what time it was- but she knew no one would be calling her, at what she assumed was the middle of the night, unless it was important.

"Hello?", she mumbled, trying to force herself into a more attentive state of consciousness.

"Laura", she heard her mother plead, a slight break in her voice. Laura shot up into a sitting position, fully alert. Her mother never let her composure waver like that unless something was really wrong.

"Something happened with Anna Lee... and I think that you and Derek might want to consider coming home for a while.", Talia continued, trying to remain calm.

At this point Derek was standing in Laura's doorway, completely tuned in to the conversation.

"What do you mean something happened? Is she going to be alright?", Laura asked, climbing out of bed and walking over to the closet. Derek flicked the light on and she nodded a quick thanks.

She heard her mother sigh before responding. "We aren't exactly sure what the problem is. I'd rather not explain it all over the phone... but we thought she was just sick, being human and all- but it just started getting worse. She's at the hospital now."

"Derek and I are packing right now", she paused to look over at him, and he took the hint. "I'll figure out what the earliest flight we can get tomorrow and I'll keep you updated."

They said their goodbyes and Derek and Laura finished packing and had a flight booked back to Beacon Hills for 6AM within an hour.

XXX

Stiles squeezed his eyes shut, trying to will himself to control his shaking hands. Hospitals were never his favorite place to hang out, but he knew he had to be here.

Everything had been going well the past few months. Everyone had settled into somewhat of a routine- Scott, Daniel, Christian and himself were all on the lacrosse team; Cora and Anna Lee had both thrown themselves into their school work completely, bringing them pretty close to Lydia and Scott's mystery girl that they now knew was called Allison; Stiles should have known that everything had just been going a little too well for it to last.

Anna Lee had started feeling sick- and being one of the humans of the pack, that was normal. Those who were born werewolves couldn't get common colds and were immune to almost all typical human illnesses- unfortunately for Anna Lee, being born a human didn't give her any sort of advantage.

Stiles was snapped out of his thoughts by a voice had come to know very well. "The Hale family?", Melissa McCall said glancing up from her clipboard. Her eyes widened slightly at the amount of people that stood up. The lot of them took up about half of the waiting room, and two of the Hales were still absent.

She cast a quick glance at Stiles, her eyebrows raising in silent question. "He's family", Talia responded before he had a chance to speak. Ms. McCall nodded and didn't question further.

"Well, we've run some more tests and we've checked and re-checked the blood work... and it we're almost positive that she has Rhabdomyosarcoma, or RMS."  
 ****

The world felt like it completely stopped spinning as her words clicked into place; Stiles had read enough about cancer to know that even if it wasn't progressed to stage 3 or 4, Lee didn't have very good odds, like at all.

"It's only at stage two right now, which... it isn't necessarily good, but we'll have a better chance then if it were further progressed."

Stiles couldn't bring himself to focus on anything after that. Lee was like one of his older siblings- the Hales had become his family, and the thought of losing any of them, basically the same way he lost his mother- he didn't know if he would be able to survive that.

The rest if the day passed by in a blur- he couldn't even tell you what had happened if he wanted to. All that Stiles knew was various members of the family had taken turns going in to see her- and he hadn't been one of them.

He was pulled out of his thoughts again when Laura and Derek appeared in the doorway of the waiting room. They immediately ran over to Luke, Melanie and Christian, hugging them with an intensity Stiles had become accustomed to the last few hours. After sharing a few private words- as private as they could be surrounded by a group of werewolves- he watched Laura and Derek make their way into the room she was in, and let his head fall into his hands.

XXX

Whether is was minutes or hours that had passed, Stiles couldn't tell you- but feeling a hand on his shoulder and looking up into the tired eyes of Melanie, he knew it didn't matter.

"She wants to see you.", Melanie said softly, squeezing his shoulder gently.

Stiles swallowed the lump rising in his throat before replying. "I want to see her too... but I want to be strong for her y'know? and I don't know if I can do that." He admitted weakly.

Melanie put her arm around him, pulling him into her. "I know that this is difficult for you Stiles- in ways that none of the rest of us can understand. I also know that she loves you just as much as she loves Christian and Daniel and Cora and Elizabeth and Derek and Laura and everyone else in this family- maybe even a little bit more sometimes.", she paused briefly rubbing his arm comfortingly. "She needs you."

He looked up from where his eyes had been practically glued to the floor and found basically every member of the Hale family staring at him. It was becoming clear to him more and more with each new situation that they relied on him at times like this to some extent- and he still wasn't really sure why. What he did know was that letting any of them down at a time like this was not an option.

He cleared his throat, wiping his hands on his jeans before standing up. Only hesitating for a brief second, he avoided making eye contact with anyone as he made his way over to the room Anna Lee was in. Closing his hand around the doorknob, he let out a shaky deep breath, trying to remain as calm as possible.

The first thing he noticed walking into the room was how plain the room was. "This doesn't suit your personality at all.", he remarked, trying to keep the mood light.

"I was wondering when you were going to come and see me. Took you long enough.", she replied playfully.

Stiles walked over and sat on the edge of the bed gently, his eyes scanning over her as he carefully took in her appearance. She didn't look much different yet- only slightly more pale than normal.

"Yeah... sorry about that.", he said with a guilty smile, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. "I've been out in the waiting room trying to keep the Hale clan in one piece.", he said jokingly.

"They _would_ all fall apart without you, so I'll let it slide.", she said nudging him playfully.

Silence filled the room momentarily before she spoke again. "I know this is difficult for you Stiles- even just being here. I'm glad you decided to come see me, even though I can tell it's tearing you apart. That means a lot to me.", She said looking into his eyes and squeezing his hand.

"You know I'd do anything for you Lee- for all of you. It doesn't matter how hard this is for me, this isn't about _me_ ; this is about you, and whatever you need, I'm always here.", Stiles replied, his eyes never leaving hers.

"There's no way that you're fourteen Stiles. I refuse to believe it.", she said in response.

He let out a genuine laugh, bringing a bright smile to her face. "Do you see how awkward I am Lee? There's no way that I'm _not_ fourteen."

She shook her head in amusement, the smile never leaving her face. "I don't know what I'd do without you Stiles."

"Good thing you'll never have to find out.", He replied, squeezing her hand again and giving her a cheeky smile.

XXX

The next day Anna Lee was allowed to go home, after treatment options had been discussed and appointments had been made. From that point on, things were not going to be easy, but that didn't seem to discourage anyone.

From the moment she returned home, Stiles was glued to her side- whether it was an appointment, at school, at any of the Hale residences- he was there.

"You realize that she's not going to break if you're not with her every second of every day right?", Peter stated more than asked.

"Wow Peter, I had no idea. Thank you for that, I feel so enlightened.", Stiles replied, voice thick with sarcasm.

"I don't know Peter, it's very possible that having Stiles around constantly is helping her with her progress. You never know."

Stiles couldn't tell if Cora was mocking him or not, but chose to roll his eyes anyway. "You're all terrible people."

"But you looooooooooove us!", Laura said wrapping her arms around him from behind.

He couldn't help but smile. "Yeah yeah, of course I do."

Stiles scoffed as he saw Derek rolling his eyes. "Not everyone is allergic to the entire spectrum of human emotion like you are Derek."

Peter, Talia, Gabriel and Cora all looked amused and Laura laughed loudly. "He does have a point there D." Laura conceded.

Derek just rolled his eyes again before shaking his head and walking out of the room. "Don't be such a sourwolf!" Stiles yelled after him, eliciting a laugh out of everyone.

"You're the only person who can get away with yelling things like that at him without getting your throat ripped out, I hope you realize.", Cora said.

Stiles smirked. "Like I said, totally irresistible.", he said gesturing to himself dramatically.

"You have no idea.", Peter mumbled.

Stiles faced morphed into a horrified expression. "Dude, you're like my creepy uncle. Just- no."

Everyone, including Peter, started laughing. Even Derek, who had snuck back into the room at some point, was smirking- and Stiles definitely counted that as progress.


	15. Disregarding thoughts I’ve had every time I’m optimistic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone sat anxiously in the waiting room as Melanie and Luke went in to speak with their daughter. It wasn’t long before Melanie poked her head out of the door and beckoned Christian to join them.
> 
> Being the ADHD kid that he was, Stiles couldn’t find it in him to sit still and eventually excused himself to go wander around the rest of the 5th floor. As he walked, he noticed that pretty much every hallway looked exactly the same. There weren’t many details- other than the room numbers- to distinguish one from the next.
> 
> He turned down the last hallway and was surprised to find someone he recognized. Stiles looked at her for a moment, trying to remember if he knew her name. When nothing came to mind, he decided on using the information he _thought_ he recalled correctly.

### Chapter 15: Disregarding thoughts I’ve had every time I’m optimistic

“Are you out of your mind?! Absolutely no way!,” Laura shrieked, nearly pulling her hair out in frustration.

“You realize this is in no way up to you right?”, Peter said in an amused tone as he picked at his nails.

Laura just glared at him from across the room. “This is not a decision that can be taken lightly, regardless of the circumstances- but Anna Lee is nearly 18, and I think that Luke and Melanie both agree with me when I say this is an option that needs to be presented to her. Ultimately it is her choice.”, Talia interjected calmly.

Laura seemed to lose a little bit of the tension in her shoulders and nodded, turning her gaze to the floor.

Anna Lee’s health had been deteriorating, and it was a very real possibility that she would not beat the illness- which until very recently no one had wanted to admit. Most humans born into wolf packs never have the need to be bitten- some ask for it and some don’t, but it is not common for them to actually receive the bite unless absolutely necessary; and many of the Hales believed this instance fell into that category. The option was going to be given to the girl within the next few days, and just the prospect of it left everyone on edge. Giving a human the bite _can_ be used to save their life in dire situations, and if it works, they survive and live out the rest of their lives as werewolves- but there is always the very real possibility that the bite won’t take, and that they will die anyway.

XXX

Everyone sat anxiously in the waiting room as Melanie and Luke went in to speak with their daughter. It wasn’t long before Melanie poked her head out of the door and beckoned Christian to join them.

Being the ADHD kid that he was, Stiles couldn’t find it in him to sit still and eventually excused himself to go wander around the rest of the 5th floor. As he walked, he noticed that pretty much every hallway looked exactly the same. There weren’t many details- other than the room numbers- to distinguish one from the next.

He turned down the last hallway and was surprised to find someone he recognized. Stiles looked at her for a moment, trying to remember if he knew her name. When nothing came to mind, he decided on using the information he _thought_ he recalled correctly.

“You’re in my P.E. class, right?”, he said softly, trying not to scare the girl.

She jumped slightly, unaware she had company, and looked up at him, recognition evident on her face.

“Uh- uh, yeah… hey”, she said timidly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “You’re Stiles”, she said more confidently.

His eyebrows rose and his mouth parted slightly in surprise. It wasn’t often he stumbled upon people that remembered him when he couldn’t recall them; it was usually the other way around.

“Yeah-… yeah, that’s me”, he replied rubbing the back of his neck. “and now I feel really awkward and embarrassed because I can’t remember your name.”

She smiled slightly. “It’s alright, most people don’t. I’m Erica.”

“Erica, right”, he replied with a nod. “So what brings you here?”

She hesitated briefly. Before replying, “it’s kind of a normal hang out spot for me actually… seizures.” She finished, clearing her throat and avoiding his eyes.

Stiles eyes widened slightly. He remembered _exactly_ who Erica was.

“What brings you here?”, she asked, directed his own question back at him.

“Cancer treatment- not for _me_ , I’m fine!”, he clarified as he saw the shocked expression forming on her face. “One of my really close friends- she’s practically my older sister actually…. It’s been pretty rough.”

Erica nodded in understanding, unsure of what else to say.

“I should probably get back”, Stiles said gesturing behind him. “…but I’ll see you around? Maybe you could come sit with us at lunch or something?”, he offered.

She snapped her head up to look at him, her eyes wide in surprise. She smiled and nodded. “Y-yeah sure. I’d like that.”

“Okay cool, see you on Monday!”, he said with one final nod before heading back the way he came.

It wasn’t long after he returned to the waiting room that Melanie, Christian and Luke re-emerged, and Stiles was unable to tell how the conversation had gone just by looking at them, which left him feeling uneasy for many reasons.

“Anna has made her decision, and she’s very sure that this is what she wants. She would appreciate if you all would respect that, despite your own personal opinions on the matter,” Melanie began calmly. “That being said, she has decided that she does not want the bite- no matter what happens with her condition.”

From that point on, the subject was surprisingly left alone. Anna Lee’s health fluctuated, but for the most part she remained well enough to continue going to school, as long as she didn’t attempt anything too strenuous.

The rest of that school year seemed to fly by, and before anyone really knew what was going on, Christian and Anna Lee were graduating. That summer consisted of more college plans being discussed- everyone that it affected decided they were going to attend as close to home as possible, despite how much Laura had always wanted to eventually go back to New York. Scott and Stiles were inseparable, as usual, and neither of them had gotten any close to Allison or Lydia. Everything seemed to be calming down until one seemingly normal night during the first week of their sophomore year.

Scott and Stiles were walking around in the woods at the edge of the Hale property- admittedly a lot later than they should have been- but things like that had never stopped them before.

“You realize this is a terrible idea right?”, Scott said for what seemed like the hundredth time that night.

“Scott, relax dude, its fine. Seriously, I don’t know what you’re so freaked out about.”, Stiles replied.

“Dude, it’s like one in the morning and we’re walking around in the dark, in the woods; I feel like it’s perfectly okay to be freaking out right now.”, Scott said exasperatedly.

Stiles was about to reply when he abruptly stopped mid-step. He cursed under his breath as he heard a distinctive growl from a few feet away. After spending nearly a lifetime around a pack of werewolves, he would recognize a sound like that in an instant.

Before he could react, a large wolf lunged out at the two of them and they stumbled backwards. It snarled, baring its teeth and walked over to Stiles. After sniffing him briefly, it jerked away and instead focused its attention on Scott.

Scott cried out as it bit his side, all sounds of protest and disbelief dying in Stiles’ throat. Suddenly, wolves burst out of the clearing behind him, one of them tackling the wolf away from Scott, the rest cornering it. Stiles quickly realized that only one of them was fully a wolf, the rest half transformed; _the Hale pack_. Talia made quick work of tearing the intruder apart, completely ripping it in half before shifting back. Stiles stood and quickly bonded over to Scott, where Peter, Laura, Derek, Luke and Gabriel were already tending to him.

“We need to get him inside quickly”, Talia said as she approached the group. Peter and Luke helped him to his feet and the group made their way to the Hale house.


	16. Feeling unstoppable, but then I just lost control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hey Lydia, you look... like you're gonna ignore me", Stiles said, trailing off as she brushed past him without a glance.
> 
> Scott chuckled, "Dude, why don't you just ask for the bite?"
> 
> Stiles looked at his friend with an incredulous expression. "Really dude? what does that have to do with Lydia still ignore my existence?"
> 
> "Allison agreed to go out with me after I got bitten..."
> 
> "That's because you didn't ask her out until afterwards Scott. She would have said yes either way. You guys are meant to be, in a sickeningly adorable way", Stiles replied."Besides, you don't just ask for the bite like that..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I do actually try to write out and plan how I want these chapters to go, but I've clearly lost all control but I just start writing and then shit happens and I don't even know. So I hope you enjoy this chapter because it totally just did not even go how I originally planned.
> 
> Thank you for all the lovely feedback!

### Chapter 16: Feeling unstoppable, but then I just lost control

Stiles ran his shaking hands over his face, trying to control his breathing as he sat down on the couch. “This cannot be happening”, he muttered to himself. “Please please _please_ tell me this is not actually happening.”

He felt the couch sink down as someone sat next to him. “Stiles, it’s alright. Breathe for me.” Focusing all of his energy on Talia’s voice, his breathing evened out enough for him to open his eyes without feeling dizzy.

“We’ve got him in one of the extra rooms upstairs and Peter and Gabriel are talking to him. He’s in the most capable hands Stiles. We’ll make sure this goes as smoothly as possible-“

“He’s going to hate me”, Stiles interrupted, his voice breaking.

Talia carefully turned his head to face her. “Why do you say that?”

“Scott has been my best friend for _years_ and I didn’t tell him, and now he just has to deal with not only the fact that werewolves _exist_ but now he suddenly _is one_ and- oh my god Ms. McCall is going to kill me and-“, his frantic rambling was cut off as he felt a hand hesitantly placed on his shoulder.

“It’s going to be okay Stiles”, Elizabeth cooed gently, looking up at him.

He pulled the small girl into his lap, smiling against her hair as he wrapped her arms around her.

“You’re right Liz. Everything is going to be okay because I’ve got you”, he replied, kissing the side of her face multiple times.

“Gross Stiles! Boys have cooties!”, she shrieked, laughing and squirming in his lap.

Talia, Renee and Melanie looked on at the scene fondly. “I never thought I would trust a sixteen year old boy, or any boy outside of the Hale family for that matter, with my daughter’s life-…but…”

“I know exactly how you feel Renee”, Melanie offered. "There’s something special about this one. Even Derek has let his guard down, no matter how adamantly he denies it”, she concluded, glancing across the room.

Renee followed her line of sight and smirked. Derek was fiercely protective when it came to his family, even more so after the fire, and the expression on his face that he was trying so desperately hard to hide was concern; and it was aimed directly at Stiles. They could all feel it, as if watching him struggle to school his features into something neutral wasn’t enough.

“I need to talk to him”, Stiles said suddenly, as he continued running his hands through Elizabeth’s hair.

Talia nodded in understanding, carefully plucking Elizabeth from his lap and allowing him to stand.

“They’re in the spare room next to Daniel’s.”

Stiles nodded in acknowledgement and exhaled slowly, not at all prepared for this conversation he now had to have with Scott. He climbed the stairs, made his way down the hall and approached the door slowly. It was cracked open slightly, but not enough to observe what was taking place in the room. He knew they would all be able to sense he was there and opted for not dragging this out any longer as he knocked purposefully on the door. He heard Gabriel beckon for him to enter and he walked inside. They were all staring at him as he appeared through the doorway, but his eyes were focused solely on his best friend.

“I’d like to speak with Scott for a moment”, Stiles requested, mustering as much confidence as he could dig up. He knew that Peter and Gabriel would be able to see through any front he tried to put up, and soon Scott would be trained to detect it too, since it was a skill he now possessed.  
Peter and Gabriel stood, taking that as their cue and left the room, Gabriel patting Stiles on the shoulder in reassurance as he walked past. Once the two boys were alone, silence completely filled the room. It had never been this quiet when they were together, and it made Stiles very uncomfortable. He cleared his throat, running a hand of the back of his neck anxiously.

“Look Scott, I really don’t know what I’m supposed to say or how to even begin to apologize for all of this”, he said gesturing around frantically. “I never intended for you to get mixed up in any of this supernatural crap and I just-“, he paused trying to gather his thoughts into something coherent.

“I don’t blame you Stiles”, Scott said suddenly, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“You…you don’t- but…I don’t…”

“I mean yes, you did drag me out into the woods at an ungodly hour, and you did keep pretty much the coolest secret ever from me, but I could never blame you for this. It wasn’t your fault some lonely alpha was wandering around and decided to bite me, and it wasn’t your secret to tell either. You’re my brother dude, and I love you”, Scott replied.

A broken noise of relief fell from Stiles’ throat and he pulled Scott up from his sitting position and into a hug. "I love you too bro, always."

They pulled apart as someone knocked on the door.

"Come on in, we're just making out in here!", Stiles yelled with a smirk. Scott shoved him playfully as the door opened to reveal a grimacing Derek.

"Calm down sourwolf, there wasn't actually making out going on in here... which is really nothing new unfortunately", Stiles added.

Derek glared at him pointedly. "My mother wanted me to tell Scott that he's welcome to stay the night here, and definitely advises that he does so as a precaution... and that they cut put off discussing his place in the pack until tomorrow if he would like."

"Thanks, uh...yeah I think I need a night to just process everything that's happened before talking to your mom about anything else."

Derek nodded, glanced at Stiles briefly and then left just as suddenly as he had appeared.

"How do you get away with calling Derek Hale sourwolf without being murdered? Derek Hale, who not only is terrifying normally, but is also a werewolf who could totally rip your face off", Scott asked, seemingly perplexed.

"Honestly Scott, I haven't quite figured that out yet...Probably because the rest of the Hales would kill him because they adore me."

"I can see that", Scott replied. "So, anything else I should know?"

XXX

"Hey Lydia, you look... like you're gonna ignore me", Stiles said, trailing off as she brushed past him without a glance.

Scott chuckled, "Dude, why don't you just ask for the bite?"

Stiles looked at his friend with an incredulous expression. "Really dude? what does that have to do with Lydia still ignoring my existence?"

"Allison agreed to go out with me after I got bitten..."

"That's because you didn't ask her out until afterwards Scott. She would have said yes either way. You guys are meant to be, in a sickeningly adorable way", Stiles replied."Besides, you don't just ask for the bite like that..."

"But you know the Hales would give it to you if you did; you're part of their pack anyway."

Stiles choked on the water he was in the middle of taking.

"Oh come on dude, they have basically had you claimed since you were like twelve. Don't even act like you know you're not pack", Scott said, giving him a knowing look.

"I'm totally not pack Scott."

"Whatever you say dude."

At lunch they sat at their normal table, which had now come to include Erica, Allison, Daniel, Danny, Cora, Lydia, Jackson, Scott and himself. Lydia and Jackson sat with them now and Stiles still couldn't get the girl to acknowledge his existence. The universe truly had it out for him, he was sure of it. Especially since he had to sit there and watch Scott and Allison be all adorably enamored with each other pretty much every second of every day.

He aggressively took a bite out of his apple, scowling at Jackson as obviously as possible.

"Tone down that glare there Stiles. You might just turn into Derek if you're not careful", Daniel teased.

Stiles scowled and Daniel just laughed. Jackson was totally turning him into a sourwolf...er, sourhuman? Didn't quite sound as catchy, but the point still came across pretty clearly, Stiles thought.

XXX

Spending his Friday night hiding out inside Beacon Hills High School was not quite how he envisioned starting his weekend, but that didn't really surprise him seeing as lately he had pretty much lost all control over everything that happened in his life.

"We are literally going to die inside of this school. I could think of so many places I'd rather meet my untimely demise", Stiles muttered as he hastily peeked his head around the corner. Once he saw the coast was clear, he scrambled down the hall, keeping as quiet as possible.

Somehow, Scott had himself had managed to get trapped inside the school with a rogue werewolf on the loose, and then said werewolf lured Allison there, who happened to be with Jackson and Lydia at the time, and now they were all here trying not to die. Only Scott and himself understood what was actually happening, making the whole not dying thing considerably more difficult.

Stiles almost had a heart attack as he rounded the corner and slammed into someone. He stumbled backwards, trying to regain his composure quickly so that he could make a run for it if need be. He let out a huge sigh of relief as he saw Christian standing in front of him.

"Jesus dude you literally almost gave me a heart attack. What are you even doing here?!", Stiles exclaimed, his limbs flailing of their own accord.

"Did you seriously think my parents, and aunts and uncles were going to let you guys handle this on your own and not offer any sort of help?", Christian replied, pulling Stiles to his feet. "Daniel, Laura, Derek, Peter and Talia are all outside trying to locate the rogue wolf before any of your human friends catch on to anything."

Stiles nodded in the affirmative, stopping immediately as a growl echoed through the hall. "Well, so much for that plan."

Christian immediately grabbed his arm and they ran down the hall quickly, making their way towards the science lab Allison, Lydia and Jackson had been holed up in.

They skidded to a stop as they rounded the corner, Scott and Derek immediately coming into view, and then approached them quickly.

"Anything?", Christian asked.

Derek shook his head, "No, nothing yet. He's definitely still here though."

They all immediately looked around almost frantically as another growl echoed through the halls.

"Scott and I will go check on the rest of Team Human", Stiles said, nodding towards Scott. Scott returned the gesture.

"Team human?", Derek asked with an amused glance between Stiles and Scott.

"Don't even act like you don't love it", Stiles replied.

"Just be careful, alright? We're going to start patrolling some of the halls on the further side of the building.", Christian replied.

Scott and Stiles had made it about a hallway and a half before they got separated, which left Stiles feeling more than a little uneasy. Cursing under his breath, he ran through the gym and into the room where the pool was.

"What the hell am I supposed to do now?", he muttered to himself. He quickly dug his phone out of his pocket, when he heard the doors burst open behind him. Stiles nearly jumped out of his skin and spun around quickly, almost toppling over in the process.

Before he could even begin to process what was happening, the "rogue wolf" which definitely wasn't a werewolf at all, was lunging at him and then suddenly the thing was being tackled to the ground. _Derek_.

"Stiles, run!", suddenly Derek was pushing him in the opposite direction, distracting him just long enough for the creature to swipe the back of his neck, rendering him immobile and he immediately collapsed.

"Derek!", Stiles frantically lifted the older man up, struggling rather spectacularly, before finally getting him standing and flinging an arm around his shoulders. He glanced behind them and saw the creature approaching quickly. He knew he would never be able to outrun it, especially with an inconveniently paralyzed Derek draping off of him.

"God I really hope this works", he said before flinging Derek and himself into the water.

Stiles resurfaced, coughing and sputtering before he realized that Derek was sinking to the bottom like a rock. He cursed again and quickly dove under, swimming to the bottom and grabbing Derek's arms tightly before hauling him to the surface. They both sucked in air greedily as they broke the surface, and Stiles wrapped Derek's arm around his shoulder and wrapped his own arm around Derek's waist in an attempt to keep them both afloat. He could feel Derek glaring next to him.

"Look dude, I'm not enjoying this any more than you are okay, but it seems like whatever the hell that thing is, it's afraid of water, and seeing as you can't really move at the moment and I'm 147 pounds of pale skin and fragile human bone, holding your werewolf ass up is not going to be easy alright", Stiles said.

"Why are you even holding me up?"

"Why am I- did you really just- okay, no. A question that stupid is one I'm not even going to dignify with an answer", he replied, spitting water out of his mouth ungracefully.

Stiles wasn't sure exactly how long they had been in the water, but he knew he wasn't going to be able to hold himself and Derek up for much longer- his body was going to give out on him. The creature was still pacing laps around the pool, which didn't really give them many options.

"Where the hell is everybody", Stiles stated more than asked.

The doors at the far end of the room burst open and Stiles felt a strangled noise of relief tear through his throat. Talia, Peter and Christian cornered the creature and Stiles swam towards the edge of the pool, Derek in tow, where Laura, Luke, Scott and Cora were waiting for them. Luke and Scott pulled Derek out of the pool and Laura and Cora helped pull Stiles out, as his energy was completely exhausted. Stiles just laid there breathing heavily, basking in the fact he was indeed still alive and possessed the ability to breathe.  


"How is it always you Stiles?", Cora asked in fond disbelief as Laura ran her hands through the little hair that he had.

"I ask myself that question every freaking day", he replied, eliciting a laugh from the girls and Scott, and an amused smirk from Luke. "I totally did not sign up to be human bait for weird supernatural creatures that are supposed to be rogue werewolves but obviously totally aren't", he continued exasperatedly.

"Well, you managed to keep yourself _and_ Derek alive, so I'd say you're doing well so far", Peter offered with a smirk, approaching them with his arms crossed over his chest.

"It's a gift", Stiles replied smugly. " _Someone_ has to make sure you all survive, and clearly the universe has chosen me, lucky for you guys", he continued.

Laura playfully smacked him upside the head and Derek scoffed.

"Seriously Derek? No scoffing allowed, for at least an hour, because I totally just saved your ass not even five minutes ago."

Christian and Cora carefully helped him sit up as he had regained movement for the most part, but his muscles were still tense. It was clear all that Stiles was going to get in response was a grimace and he rolled his eyes.

"Your social skills are just astounding, I totally see why the ladies are all over you", Stiles said sarcastically.

Stiles and Derek were helped to their feet and everyone made their way out of the school. Scott was tackled into a hug by Allison as soon as she saw him, and Lydia and Jackson just stood there expectantly.

"Look, everyone is alive. Can we go now?", Jackson scoffed impatiently. Lydia rolled her eyes but obliged as soon as they were able to pry Allison off of Scott.

Scott and Stiles hopped in the jeep he had affectionately named Roscoe and he dropped Scott off before heading home. He pulled into the driveway and quickly made his way into the house, still dripping wet and shivering the entire way up to his room. He quickly peeled his clothes off as he kicked the door closed behind him. Pulling a new shirt and hoodie out of his closet, he nearly jumped out of his skin when he turned around to find Laura, Derek and Cora had climbed through his window.

"Seriously guys?! Holy mother of god. I almost died like three times tonight and I'm pretty sure I just had a mini-heart attack. What are you guys even doing here?", Stiles sputtered, holding a hand to his chest.

"We just came to check up on you, make sure you got home okay and everything", Laura said, taking a seat on the edge of his bed.

"There are these handy little devices known as cell phones. They're pretty good for communicating with people", Stiles said pulling the shirt over his head.

When he got no response he just shook his head, a fond smile on his face. "Right, totally forgot. Normal human etiquette as far as communication doesn't apply to your creepy werewolf need to protect the pack or whatever."

"Something like that", Cora replied, with a smirk.

"Well, now that we know you're alive we should probably head back", Laura said standing up and making her way over to the window.

"Bye Laura, Cora. Always nice to talk to you Derek."

Laura and Cora laughed, and followed Derek out of the window, disappearing back into the night.

"I seriously have lost all control", Stiles muttered, shoving his arms through his hoodie and closing the window.


	17. I'm Fixed at Zero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles cried out, quickly bringing a hand up to muffle the sound.
> 
> “I’m going to give you one more chance”, Talia warned calmly. “Release him, or we cannot be held responsible for our actions defending a pack member.”
> 
> “Putting yourselves at risk for a human. I always knew werewolves were foolishly sentimental creatures.”
> 
> The pack slowly began surrounding the creature. “Careful now; one false move and I could end him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I KNOW IT HAS BEEN LIKE WEEKS SINCE I'VE UPDATED I AM SO SORRY.  
> I took a trip to Houston and then I've been sick twice and I've been trying to prepare for Christmas and I've been all over the place for the Holidays and lasijdfoaidklflds,.f
> 
> ANYWAYS, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. As always, I appreciate any and all feedback.

### Chapter 17: I'm Fixed at Zero

Stiles let out a totally manly grunt and not at all a squeal as Derek slammed him up against the wall. He opened his mouth to protest, but was quickly cut off as it was abruptly covered by Derek's hand. He didn't need the accompanying glare to get the picture. Stiles nodded in understanding and Derek slowly stepped away.

They were all on a stake-out, which had become somewhat of a normal thing lately, and somehow he ended up getting stuck with Derek _again_ , which resulted in him being shoved against things and/or threatened and glared it. Stiles counted it as a step in the right direction, seeing as it meant sourwolf was actually talking to and interacting with him now. He knew it was only a matter of time- no one could resist the Stilinski charm forever, although he would give Derek credit for holding out as long as he did, only second to Lydia.

Slowly, the two of them crept around the side of the building, sliding inside the back doors. It had taken them all weeks to try and track down the newest creature wreaking havoc on Beacon Hills- until they agreed to let Stiles do the research; they had its location within a few days.

“We better actually be able to kill this thing this time”, Stiles mumbled. Derek turned to threaten him again when, of course, all hell broke loose. Stiles felt himself being lifted off of the ground aggressively and pulled into a headlock from behind.

Derek shifted immediately, snarling and baring his teeth. Seconds later the rest of the Hale pack burst into the room, already fully transformed.

“Put the boy down”, Talia ordered, taking her place at the front of the pack.

“Hmm… I don’t think I will”, the creature taunted. “It’s a shame you’ve allowed this… _human_ to weave himself so deeply into your pack. I can’t even imagine what it would do to your dynamics if something…unfortunate were to happen”, it finished with a menacing smirk, running her long fingernail down his side before jabbing it inside and twisting.

Stiles cried out, quickly bringing a hand up to muffle the sound.

“I’m going to give you one more chance”, Talia warned calmly. “Release him, or we cannot be held responsible for our actions defending a pack member.”

“Putting yourselves at risk for a human. I always knew werewolves were foolishly sentimental creatures.”

The pack slowly began surrounding the creature. “Careful now; one false move and I could end him.”

“But you won’t”, Peter said calmly, his lips quirking upwards slightly.

“Oh? And what makes you so sure?”

Within seconds, the life had completely left the creature’s eyes as she fell to the floor, blood pouring from her neck and pooling on the floor; Derek had slashed her from behind the second the creature had let her guard down even slightly. Stiles rolled onto his back, clutching his side as the pack rushed toward him.

“Seriously, why is it always me? I know I’m completely irresistible to humans, and apparently werewolves- but this universal appeal to all of the supernatural I seem to have going on is just getting ridiculous”, Stiles exclaimed, emphasizing emphatically with his free hand.

The air was knocked out of him and his rambling was put to a halt as Scott and Cora both latched onto him. “Hey, hey. It’s alright. I’m fine guys”, he assured, trying to awkwardly hug both of them back with one arm.

Gabriel and Luke carefully pulled Cora and Scott off of him and lifted him to his feet. Gabriel automatically placed his hand at Stile’s side to leech some of his pain until they could get his injury treated properly.

XXX

When the pack arrived back at the Hale house, Talia and Gabriel escorted Stiles into one of the bathrooms to clean the wound in his side properly. The rest of the pack dispersed, most of them heading straight to bed. Derek immediately made his way upstairs and out onto the roof. Cora quietly followed him, knowing he only went out there when he needed to think. Usually she left him to it, knowing he enjoyed being alone when he was out there- but tonight she could tell it was different.

“You want to talk about it?”, she asked after a few minutes of silence, her eyes still scanning the stars above their heads.

Derek ran a hand through his hair before letting his head drop into both of his hands. She heard him sigh, knowing that he was going to open up to her this time. She knew all of his tells, and that was one of them.

“I don’t just rip people’s throats out Cora- even if they aren’t actually people and they’re a threat.”

Cora nodded in understanding. Derek had never been one to just _kill_ \- even when it was absolutely necessary, for him it was _always_ a last resort. “But tonight it was different.”, she finished for him.

“Yeah”, he began nodding. “It was different.”

Silence filled the air again as they stared up at the stars.

“My wolf just-…I almost couldn’t control it Cora. It’s getting worse.”, Derek said softly.

Immediately her gaze shifted over to him. “Getting worse?”, she offered, feeling confused.

Derek sighed again. “Yeah, getting worse. There are times when I just- I don’t really know. It just kind of takes over and I have this overwhelming need to protect at all costs. It’s something I know I need to talk to mom about… but that’s not really a conversation I’m looking forward to having.”

Cora nodded in acknowledgement, still feeling somewhat confused; but at that point, it didn’t seem like Derek knew much more than she did.

XXX **  
**  
"What?!", Stiles exclaimed, flailing as Cora rolled her eyes and began pulling books out of her locker.

"I said, I'm not going to prom Stiles", she repeated, smirking slightly.

"Okay, no. That is completely unacceptable! First of all, we are all going to prom- and "all" definitely includes you. Secondly, you would have absolutely no trouble finding a date. I really don't see what the problem is here", Stiles replied, leaning against the lockers.

"I just don't really get the point okay?", she began, turning to look at him briefly.  
Stiles flailed dramatically, as if that was answer enough. Cora just rolled her eyes and began to walk away. He gently grabbed her shoulder, holding her in place. He slowly turned her to face him.

“This doesn’t have anything to do with what happened when Laura and Derek went to prom does it?”, he asked softly.

Cora quickly cast her eyes to the floor and said nothing.

“Look, I know that was a rough night for all of us, okay? Not exactly one that we want to remember- but that was then. I know that the bad experience we all had that night and your indifference towards school functions in general aren’t really selling points or anything, but I really do think you would have fun with us.” Cora still looked unconvinced. He sighed, “Alright fine- I don’t just make this offer to anyone, but I will do your hair for you just like I did Laura’s if you go with us.”

Her face lit up before she was able to school her features into something neutral. “Really?”, she asked, trying to keep the excitement out of her voice.

“Really. I’ll even go with you to pick out your dress or whatever”, he said with a wave of his hand.

She let a small smile slip before looking up at him. “Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Character reference #1 - http://righteouspumpernickel.tumblr.com/post/64980137113  
> Character reference #2 - http://righteouspumpernickel.tumblr.com/post/69370167812


	18. And hearts, they don't lie, they just quiver in fear.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He felt the discomfort start to fade away as a hand appeared on his shoulder. Letting out a sigh of relief, he melted into the touch. “That feels amazing, thank you”, he said with a small moan, assuming it was Laura or Cora like it usually was.
> 
> “You’re welcome”, Derek replied, with a small smirk as Stiles flailed in surprise at the sound of his voice. The older man just shook his head in amusement and sat down next to the boy, his hand remaining on the younger boy’s shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm definitely going to try to start updating regularly again- like at least twice a week- so hopefully that'll be a thing. Hope you all are still enjoying it! (:

### Chapter 18: And hearts, they don't lie, they just quiver in fear

Talia, Peter, Christian, Derek, Laura, Cora, and Gabriel were all sitting in the living room- some watching TV, some reading- all just enjoying spending some time together as a family; and of course Stiles was there- Stiles was _always_ there.  
Stiles fell back onto the couch, wincing slightly as his side throbbed. “Why does this still hurt? I know I’m human and my healing process is ridiculously slow, but seriously.”

He felt the discomfort start to fade away as a hand appeared on his shoulder. Letting out a sigh of relief, he melted into the touch. “That feels amazing, thank you”, he said with a small moan, assuming it was Laura or Cora like it usually was.

“You’re welcome”, Derek replied, with a small smirk as Stiles flailed in surprise at the sound of his voice. The older man just shook his head in amusement and sat down next to the boy, his hand remaining on the younger boy’s shoulder.

Clearing his throat and rubbing the back of his neck nervously, Stiles turned to look at Derek. “You don’t have to do that y’know. I mean, I appreciate it, but it’s really not that bad.”

“I don’t mind, but if you don’t want me to-“, Derek replied, moving his hand away just slightly.

Without thinking, Stiles quickly covered Derek’s hand with his own to keep him from fully pulling away. “No no no! It’s not-…I just- thanks. I know I’m not exactly your favorite, and taking pain from others , I mean I don’t know much about it, but it obviously isn’t pleasant… So… I appreciate it.”

Right as he stopped speaking he seemed to realize where his hand was- resting directly on top of Derek’s- and quickly pulled it away. He could feel the heat rising in his cheeks as he mentally cursed himself- there was no doubt in his mind that everyone in the room was watching them.

“It’s no problem”, Derek said, still staring at his hand- where Stile’s had been just seconds ago. “You’re pack, no matter how annoying you are”, he finished with a smirk before standing and walking into the kitchen.

Stiles sputtered indignantly as his jaw dropped and his eyes widened in surprise. “Did he just say that I was pack?! Did- was that-“. He found himself unable to say anything else. He quickly looked over to Talia and Gabriel for an explanation, only to find them clearly just as surprised as he was.

“…but, I’m not, am I?”, Stiles asked, glancing at everyone in the room. “I mean, you guys always say I’m family… but can I technically even be pack?”

“To us, you’ve been pack for a long time Stiles- Derek is the only one who held back in admitting that, well, he _was_ the only one- but ultimately, that’s up to you. Humans can be made pack- but only if they want to be.”, Talia replied carefully.

He nodded slowly, taking everything in. They had been calling him family for as long as he can remember, and Scott always told him that he was totally part of the Hale pack- but actually hearing it outright, directly from them was something completely different.

“What’s the process like- being made pack? I mean… I still get to be completely human right?”, he asked hesitantly.

Talia smiled softly, “You just have to accept it. We as a pack have already accepted you into our pack, and you’ve been acting like a human in our pack for a long time- so there isn’t really a process. We already fully trust you and accept you, and you always help us in both human and werewolf endeavors. “

.  
“It’s definitely not a decision you need to make right away”, Gabriel interjected. “There’s a lot to think about, and if you come up with any more questions, any of us would be happy to answer them for you the best that we can.”, he added with a warm smile.

To Stiles, the answer was obvious- however, being naturally curious, he decided to withhold his answer until he figured out what exactly he wanted to know and how to best ask these questions. He wanted to know everything- he always did; but he needed to find a starting point.

XXX

“Do you want to talk about it?”, Talia asked as she ran her fingers through his hair gently.

Derek shrugged and continued looking down at his lap.

“Is there a reason you’re accepting him as pack now when you wouldn’t before?”

“I’ve always accepted him as pack mom- he’s always _been_ pack, from the very beginning”, Derek replied with a sigh.

“I don’t know about that… you’ve always been very guarded around him. Then again, you’ve always been very protective of him as well-“

“Too protective”, he grimaced, interrupting before she could finish her observation.

Talia raised her eyebrows in surprise, intrigued. “Too protective?” . She could tell that her son was frustrated and didn’t want to push him, but this was a conversation they both knew was long overdue.

“Yes mom- at first I thought it was just in general, me being overprotective of everyone because of the fire and my wolf being restless because of it- but then it was obvious that-“, he grimaced once again, as if afraid to finish his train of thought.

She sat there patiently, still playing with his hair like she used to do when he was much younger. After a few minutes he began to speak again.

“Once I started paying more attention, it was obvious that I was starting to lose control of my wolf when it felt the need to protect- but not around everyone like I originally thought, just around Stiles. It became even more evident after that night in the warehouse. I don’t just rip throats out like that mom”, he finished, still not meeting her eyes.

Talia’s lips began to quirk upwards slightly as it all clicked into place. “That’s why you’ve been keeping it a secret- because the others will know what that means as soon as they find out.”, she supplied in understanding.

“Yeah, and I really don’t think I’m ready for that.”

“Your secret is safe with me Derek- you know I won’t say anything if you don’t want me to- but I can’t promise that the others won’t figure it out, and you know it’ll only get more difficult to control as times goes on if you don’t do anything about it.”, Talia replied.

“He’s sixteen, mom. I can’t spring something like that on a teenager, and on top of that, I don’t even know how _I_ feel about the situation, despite what my wolf might think.”

“You’ve still got time Derek, I’m not saying that any decisions need to be made right now, but you’ve got to stop actively fighting it. That’s not doing any good for anybody, especially you. We miss seeing you smile and enjoy yourself Derek- you used to light up a room when you walked in… you could still do that y’know”, she finished as she turned to catch his eyes.

He smiled the first completely genuine smile that he had in a very long time.


	19. I know you’re only blinding to keep back what the clouds are hiding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "As sweet as this is, it still doesn't get us any closer to solving the actual issue at hand", Lydia intervened, bringing the attention of the group back to her. "By the sound of things we all either have dates already or have solid plans for acquiring them- you're not going to be the only one in our group without a date Stiles. I will not allow that."
> 
> Stiles felt himself suppressing a smile. Despite losing the goddess of a woman he considered the love of his life to someone like Jackson, he could feel that she was slowly warming up to the idea of interacting with him voluntarily and almost actually seemed to care about him occasionally; he would take what he could get.

### Chapter Nineteen: I know you’re only blinding to keep back what the clouds are hiding 

“So prom…”, Lydia stated, immediately catching the attention of everyone at the table. “Seeing as it’s only about four months away now, we need to start planning. We honestly should have started planning sooner.”

“We’re all going to be going together right?”, Allison asked, a hint of hesitation in her voice.

“Don’t be ridiculous Allison; of course we’re all going together. I was thinking it would be best if we all got ready together as well”, She replied with her signature tone of finality, as if daring someone to challenge her.

“We could all get together at my house- I mean, god knows it’s big enough, and I’m sure my parents would love it to be honest”, Cora offered, surprising everyone. She tended to be one of the more quiet members of the group, and Stiles had basically had to bribe her into considering going in the first place.

“That’s actually a really good idea”, Daniel agreed. “Talia and everyone else would be all over that.”

“Excellent”, Lydia affirmed, clearly very pleased. It wasn’t often Lydia didn’t get her way, but the fact that no one had even tried to object was slightly surprising. “Now, onto the next order of business- dates”, she continued, a smug smirk forming on her face.

“W-well, I haven’t exactly asked… but I was hoping I was going with Allison?”, Scott said somewhat timidly. Allison beaming and leaning into him was confirmation enough.

“You guys are so adorable I literally might have to stab my eyes out”, Stiles said lovingly.

“No need to be jealous Stilinski”, Jackson replied with a smirk. Stiles just leveled him with a glare.

“Anyway”, Lydia continued, rolling her eyes. “Obviously Scott and Allison are going together, Daniel is taking his not very secret "secret girlfriend", Jackson and I are going together- but the rest of you-”, she paused, gesturing towards Cora, Erica, Stiles and Danny.

“I’ve actually got my eye on someone…”, Erica and Cora admitted. They both turned toward each other, slightly shocked. They both chuckled nervously.

“Now that we can work with”, Lydia replied, clearly already scheming. “Spill.”

Apparently Erica had been eying this guy named Boyd, who Stiles, Jackson, Danny and Scott recognized from the lacrosse team. He was a quiet guy as far as they could tell, but they didn’t really know much else about him. Danny promised Erica that he would do some research and get back to her and Lydia with some possibilities- which pleased both women greatly.

Cora was slightly more reluctant to share, which everyone had expected- and it made Stiles feel a lot better about the fact Cora had neglected to mention her crush to him.

“His name is Isaac”, she revealed, finally caving. “He’s in my History class.”

“Wait”, Stiles said putting his hands out in front of him animatedly, “are you talking about Isaac Lahey?”

Cora’s eyes widened in astonishment, “How the hell did you know that Stiles?”

Stiles smirked slightly, “You’ve known me since I was like ten and yet you still underestimate the all-knowing Stiles Stilinski.”

Scott and Allison shook their heads fondly, while Jackson rolled his eyes and Danny tried to contain the smile forming on his face.

"If Stiles has anything to do with it, you'll be going to prom with Isaac", Lydia confirmed, as if the admission was ordinary.

The look of complete shock that immediately took over Stiles's face was something he didn't even try to hide. Lydia didn't acknowledge him often, despite the group of mutual friends they now shared. For her to casually throw out compliments like it was familiar territory _was_ shocking at the very least.

He faltered momentarily before recovering with, "She's right you know; Stilinski men are irresistible in basically every sense of the word; and you know from experience my mini-sourwolf, if anyone can ware someone down, it's definitely me."

Cora rolled her eyes before shoving him fondly. "I'm trusting you Stiles."

To everyone else it sounded like another playful jab added to light conversation, but Stiles knew how much this meant to her, and he took it completely to heart.

Danny admitted that he too had someone in mind and was already working on a plan.

Stiles could feel everyone's eyes shift to him almost simultaneously. "Seriously?", he groaned. "Why is it literally always me?"

Both Danny and Cora rubbed one of his shoulders comfortingly. He just groaned again before letting his head fall onto the table with a 'thunk'.

"C'mon Stiles, you can't possibly tell me that there's not a single person you're crushing on that you can ask to prom", Scott said, eying his best friend, sending him a knowing stare.

"The problem isn't that I'm not crushing Scott, the problem is that I crush on people beyond out of my league in every way and therefor there is never any chance for reciprocation of any kind- which although I acknowledge and accept, I seem to just continue doing it anyway", Stiles replied somewhat exasperatedly, as if Scott should know that by now.

"Stiles", Allison said with a smile that could probably blind everyone in the room, "you realize that no one is really out of your league. You're probably just going about it the wrong way.", she offered. If she wasn't dating his best friend, and there wasn't a table between them, he probably would have flung himself at her.

Jackson scoffed, mumbling something he chose to ignore. There was no way Stiles was going to let Jackson of all people ruin this moment for him. "Scott, you definitely need to keep her", he said gesturing towards Allison, mirroring her infectious smile.

"As sweet as this is, it still doesn't get us any closer to solving the actual issue at hand", Lydia intervened, bringing the attention of the group back to her. "By the sound of things we all either have dates already or have solid plans for acquiring them- you're not going to be the only one in our group without a date Stiles. I will not allow that."

Stiles felt himself suppressing a smile. Despite losing the goddess of a woman he considered the love of his life to someone like Jackson, he could feel that she was slowly warming up to the idea of interacting with him voluntarily and almost actually seemed to care about him occasionally; he would take what he could get.

XXX

The moment Stiles walked into the Beacon Hills Sheriff's department and him sitting broken and battered, alone in the large room, that this was going to turn into so much more than a prom date for Cora.

He was very careful in his approach of Isaac. The kid was clearly shaken up and startling him further would only make things worse. Sitting down, he turned to face the battered boy.

"Isaac", he prompted softly.

He didn't hesitate in turning to look at Stiles, and even attempted to offer up a small smile. "Stiles", he offered quietly.

Stiles would admit that he was surprised Isaac recognized him- then again, a lot of people knew who he was due to the status of his father, being the Sheriff and all. "You want to talk about it?", he prompted gently. His instinct was to ask Isaac how he was, but he knew it was a stupid question.

Isaac hesitated for a moment, thinking it over before answering. "I've already had to talk about it tonight more than I ever wanted to... but someday I might take you up on the offer."

He nodded in understanding, getting more of an answer than he was expecting. "It never expires, so just let me know." Isaac actually smiled at that, which Stiles considered a victory. Sheriff Stilinski walked out of his office and spotted his son sitting with Isaac right away, his face taking on an expression of fondness as well as curiosity. Stiles excused himself and walked to meet his father half way.

"How's he holding up?", the Sheriff asked, nodding subtly to the boy.

"Better than I was expecting with the way that he looks. He didn't give me any details- which I expected."

His father nodded, "Regardless, I'm sure you're going to figure it out if you haven't already. He was a mess when we got to him."

"I would be surprised if he wasn't. I'm assuming he's not going back home- does he have other family to stay with?", Stiles asked.

"Your assumptions would be correct. We're trying to find somewhere for him to go at the moment. According to him he doesn't have any other family, and from what we've found so far he seems to be right", the Sheriff replied, running a hand over his face tiredly.

"We can let him stay with us... right? Is that technically a thing that can happen?"

"Technically if we can't find family for him to stay with, we're supposed to send him to some sort of foster program since he's a minor- but I know they don't get treated as well as they should in places like that and the kid has already been through hell. I'm working on pulling some strings."

Stiles offered his dad a bright smile, which his dad mirrored, before explaining he had to get back to work and giving him a hug.

If he was going to get Isaac feeling better by prom, Stiles definitely had his work cut out for him- luckily for everyone involved, Stiles loved a good challenge.


	20. Who’d ever guess that this would be the situation?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Derek is missing", Talia stated calmly, throwing everyone off completely.
> 
> "All of the color drained from Cora's face, "Missing? what exactly- how bad is it?", she asked, her jaw clenched tightly.
> 
> "We aren't sure, but we think that she might be back", Luke replied cryptically.
> 
> "Dammit", Cora exclaimed running a hand through her hair. "What's the plan?"
> 
> "I think it's time we bring everyone in for a meeting", Talia said. "They're all going to need to know eventually, especially if it is her that we're dealing with. How quickly can you get everyone here?", She asked, turning to Stiles.
> 
> "Give me twenty minutes", Stiles replied, pulling out his phone.

### Chapter Twenty: 

A few days later they brought Erica and Isaac around to the Hale house to hang out, and to get the pack comfortable around them. If Stiles was going to successfully get Cora and Isaac together, he knew the pack would need to be familiar with having him around- and Stiles had a bit of a soft spot for Erica, and having her around had become a comfort of sorts.

Isaac, Cora, Stiles, Daniel, Scott, Laura and Christian were all watching TV in the family room when the front door burst open, a loud bang echoing through the house as it crashed against the wall. Laura, Christian and Scott were on their feet immediately at the sight of Luke being led into the house by Gabriel and Talia- dark gashes covering his body, his shirt hanging off of him torn and bloody.

"What the hell happened?!" Laura exclaimed, quickly clearing off a space on the couch. Gabriel sat down next to him as Talia rushed off to get a towel and a clean shirt.

"We were just doing a routine sweep of the property and happened to cross a rival pack. They should know that this territory is spoken for." Luke replied with a grunt. "Although, I think it's safe to say they were looking for us."

Isaac and Erica took in the scene before them completely awe-struck. "A rival pack?", Erica asked as Talia returned, wiping some of the blood away and handing over the spare shirt.

"Shouldn't we get him to a hospital or something?", Isaac asked, his voiced laced with concern.

Laura and Cora bit back chuckles and Stiles and Scott shared a knowing smile. "Just watch", Cora said nudging Isaac lightly, her eyes never leaving Luke.

Slowly the large gashes began to disappear, receding as the skin mended itself. A few minutes later, it was as if Luke had never been injured in the first place.

"W-what just... how did... but I don't...", Erica stuttered, struggling to find words amidst the clear state of shock she was in.

"Derek is missing", Talia stated calmly, throwing everyone off completely.

"All of the color drained from Cora's face, "Missing? what exactly- how bad is it?", she asked, her jaw clenched tightly.

"We aren't sure, but we think that she might be back", Luke replied cryptically.

"Dammit", Cora exclaimed running a hand through her hair. "What's the plan?"

"I think it's time we bring everyone in for a meeting", Talia said. "They're all going to need to know eventually, especially if it is her that we're dealing with. How quickly can you get everyone here?", She asked, turning to Stiles.

"Give me twenty minutes", Stiles replied, pulling out his phone.

XXX

About forty-five minutes later the living room was overflowing- everyone in the Hale pack was there, plus Erica, Isaac, Allison, Lydia, Jackson and Danny. Talia and Gabriel took their place at the front of the room and silence filled the house almost instantly.

"Thank you all for gathering so quickly- I would not have done this on such short notice if it were not completely urgent", she began, eying everyone carefully. "As some of you are already aware, Derek is missing. We had a run-in with a rival pack, but we have reasons to suspect that _she_ might be behind all of this. Her scent is lingering again in places that it shouldn't be."

"She? You're not talking about Derek's ex....?" Stiles asked, afraid that he already knew the answer. When silence was the only response he received, his fears were confirmed. "Fuck this is even worse than I thought."

"I'm sorry, but what's going on? I don't really understand why we've all been gathered here", Danny said.

Talia's gaze softened. "We brought all of you in because you have close ties with the pack. You deserve to know whats going on because your association with us may not be something you want to continue as it could be potentially dangerous for you- but that it a choice you should be free to make on your own", she began slowly. "Derek was taken sometime yesterday, but we couldn't really prove it until earlier today when we came across the other pack. We are the Hale pack, and it's unusual for others to cross us unless it's hunters. Derek's ex girlfriend comes from a family of hunters-"

"You're talking about Kate, aren't you?", Allison stated, more than asked, her eyes wide with realization.

"Yes", Talia said, nodding with approval at the youngest Argent's quick wit. "Derek and Kate were together for a while, and to say the very least it did not end well. For some reason she doesn't seem to like to abide by the code."

"Wait wait wait- hunters? code? what the _hell_ are we even talking about?", Jackson asked exasperatedly.

"Werewolves, obviously. Keep up Jackson", Lydia said, rolling her eyes at her boyfriend. Talia couldn't contain the immediate upturn of her lips. Everyone else stared at her with a mixture of awe and approval.

"And you all wonder why I've worshiped her since 3rd grade", Stiles stated, gesturing wildly.

"I think I'm starting to understand. You've always had impeccable taste", Talia replied. "As Lydia stated", she continued, turning back to the group, "we are the Hale pack, and our family comes from a long line of werewolves, dating back hundreds of years- just as the Argent family comes from a long line of hunters, dating back just as long. There has been a code between hunters and werewolves that is honored by most, however, some hunters choose not to abide by the code and attack werewolves without mercy or discretion. It is imperative that we find Derek as soon as possible."

"So what do we do?", Erica asked. "I mean, I'm sure all of us would love to help, but we're just humans... is there really anything we can do that will actually help?"

"We have our share of humans in the Hale pack- Robert, Melanie, Anna Lee, Daniel and Stiles. They all are helpful in their own ways, you all could be as well, if you wanted. We didn't call you here to ask for your help, that would be far too much to ask. However, things may start to get complicated, and leaving you all in the dark about it would not do anyone any good", Gabriel replied.

"I'm in. This will open a whole new subject of study I can pursue, which I'm desperately in need of. Archaic Latin just isn't cutting it for me anymore", Lydia stated without hesitation. "However, I do request that I'll be working with Stiles, as I assume he tends to be the brains of the operations, yes?", she added, raising a questioning eyebrow.

"That is correct, yes. Stiles has taken up the role as our resident genius of sorts- I'm sure he'll enjoy the challenge of the two of you working together", Talia replied, clearly impressed and intrigued.

Stiles' mouth hung open in surprise. Lydia had not only assumed that he was the most intelligent one in the pack- at least that's what she had implied- _and_ she had request to work specifically with him. "That is definitely a challenge I welcome entirely, yes", he replied, urging his brain to start functioning again.

"Excellent", Lydia replied, obviously pleased with her requests.

"I guess that means I'm in too", Jackson added. He did his best to put up a front of carelessness, but all of the werewolves in the room could tell that he was pretty flustered by the whole situation. His heart was in it though- he wouldn't betray them.

"I'm definitely in. If we're building up a sort of intelligence league in the pack, Lydia and Stiles could use the knowledge I have when it comes to computers...", Danny offered.

"Dude, yes. That is definitely something that we need", Stiles agreed, excitedly, looking to Talia for approval. She nodded, taking in the developments with patience. Danny smiled brightly, accepting the bro-hug Stiles pulled him into.

"Like I said before, I would love to help and I'm sure Isaac would too-", she paused as he nodded in agreement, "-but I don't really know how much we'd have to offer, unlike team genius over there", she said gesturing to Stiles, Lydia and Danny. "But we're in."

"Well then", Peter said, stepping away from his spot on the wall. "Welcome to the Hale pack", he said eying them with a smirk. "Let's get started, shall we?"


	21. If I Die Young

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter, Melanie, Danny and Scott quietly entered the house through the back to meet up with them, confirming that they would take care of whatever was waiting for them upstairs while the main group made their way downstairs to - hopefully - find Derek. They were at a high disadvantage, not knowing a lot of detail about the room set up or what exactly was waiting for them on the other side. Nodding to each other in confirmation, Talia opened the door and began descending the stairs. Once they had reached the bottom, there were four hunters - none of whom were Kate - to greet them. 
> 
> "Trespassing on hunter territory, probably the stupidest thing your pack has ever done Hale", one of them spat, clearly disgusted. 
> 
> "Kidnapping a member of the Hale pack, _definitely_ not the wisest thing Kate and the rest of you lot have done", Talia replied calmly. 
> 
> "We will rid this town of you monsters- even if we have to do it one by one", another hunter sneered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I feel like this chapter sucks a lot, but I really wanted to update because it's been a while- too long, really.  
> Thanks for your support guys, it means more than you could possibly realize (:

### Chapter Twenty One

They had exactly one day to put together some sort of plan- most of the pack hadn't even wanted to wait _that_ long, afraid that it might put Derek at too much of a risk, but they couldn't go in completely blind and risk everyone's safety. 

Peter, Stiles, Lydia, Danny, Laura and Talia were in charge of strategy, while Gabriel, Renee, Luke and Melanie worked on integrating the other new members into the pack, as well as brushing up on training in general. They had a hunch as to where Kate was keeping Derek, but that's really all had to go on- and if it wasn't right, well, they couldn't really afford to think like that. 

It was agreed that everyone would work in groups and all of the groups would have at least one senior member of the pack to ensure that everything went as smoothly as possible. At 7PM the follow night, they all met up at the main Hale house and met up with their groups to go over the plan one last time before heading out to what they were desperately hoping was the right location. 

"Alright everyone- remember stay with your groups unless there is absolutely no other option but to separate. Our main objective is to get Derek out with no casualties from the pack if at all possible. Good luck, and keep your senses about you. Kate is dangerous, and she's not afraid of hurting people just to hurt them if they have anything to do with our kind", Talia said, speaking carefully. She had confidence in her pack, even with the new additions, but she still worried about them; she was their alpha and it was her role to protect them. 

Robert, Daniel, Jackson, Lydia, Danny, Peter and Melanie made their way around the back of building while Luke, Christian, Anna Lee, Scott, Allison, Isaac and Erica secured the sides. Talia, Stiles, Gabriel, Laura, Cora and Renee were going to take the front entrance and were considered the main task force. How Stiles ended up with basically Derek's entire immediate family on the most crucial team of the entire mission he had no idea; he was trying to push that as far back in his mind as he could to keep from freaking out- now was not the time for that. 

Talia entered the building first, followed by Cora, then himself, Laura, Renee and Gabriel. They quietly made their may through the main foyer and down the hall, surveying the rooms around them carefully as they went. Stiles could tell that they had all heard something that escaped his human hearing abilities as they all shifted into fighting positions. "They're in the basement, reinforcements all around the room, more upstairs", Gabriel explained to Stiles in barely a whisper. Cora and Laura quickly pulled out their phones, texting the developments to the rest of the pack - there were more people than they had expected, and it was now clear that this was going to end in bloodshed. 

Peter, Melanie, Danny and Scott quietly entered the house through the back to meet up with them, confirming that they would take care of whatever was waiting for them upstairs while the main group made their way downstairs to - hopefully - find Derek. They were at a high disadvantage, not knowing a lot of detail about the room set up or what exactly was waiting for them on the other side. Nodding to each other in confirmation, Talia opened the door and began descending the stairs. Once they had reached the bottom, there were four hunters - none of whom were Kate - to greet them. 

"Trespassing on hunter territory, probably the stupidest thing your pack has ever done Hale", one of them spat, clearly disgusted. 

"Kidnapping a member of the Hale pack, _definitely_ not the wisest thing Kate and the rest of you lot have done", Talia replied calmly. 

"We will rid this town of you monsters- even if we have to do it one by one", another hunter sneered. 

"I'd like to see you try", Renee challenged, her fangs elongating as she spoke. All of the wolves slowly began to shift, preparing themselves for the attack they knew was coming, and stepping in front of Stiles. He had been trained, but they wanted to keep the human away from the fighting as much as possible- they had other plans for him. 

The hunters drew out their weapons and that's really all it took. Both groups went at each other and Stiles slid around them while the hunters were distracted, making his way deeper into the dimly lit room. It was the biggest basement that Stiles had ever seen going further back than he could see, branching out into hallways on both sides. He concentrated all of his energy on listening, trying to get some sort of clue as to which direction he should go; he didn't have any time to waste with getting this wrong. He heard a faint sound from the left and quietly headed in that direction. As he got to the end of the hall, the sounds got louder and louder, sending Stiles' heart rate racing. He had no backup right now, and no idea what to expect on the other side, which was turning out to be the theme of the evening apparently. Stiles took a deep breath, trying to calm the butterflies in his stomach, and yanked the door open before he could change his mind. 

"Well well well, isn't this a pleasant surprise", Kate said, her eyes raking over every inch of his body. "Someone is growing into himself nicely. It's a shame you've gotten yourself mixed up with the wrong people- we could have had a lot of fun together."

Stiles felt himself gagging at the prospect of working with Kate in any sense of the word, and nearly threw up when his eyes drifted behind her. Derek was chained to some sort of table, visible gashes all over the upper half of his body. He knew instantly that she had to be using wolfsbane again if he wasn't healing, which only fueled Stiles' anger- he was almost certain he was physically shaking. "Let him go Kate, or I swear you're going to regret it", he bit out, trying to control his temper. 

She laughed loudly, throwing her head back and making a show of it. "You're adorable, and fiercely passionate. That's unexpected, but I like it."

Their conversation was cut short as a spot on the ceiling crumbled to the floor between them and a _pile_ of werewolves and hunters came crashing along with it. Everything turned to complete chaos all at once as both hunters and werewolves poured into the room from what seemed like every direction. Stiles quickly snapped himself into focus, carefully trying to make his way through the fighting to get to Derek. He ducked around as many people as possible, trying to remain under the radar and made it across the room in what he considered pretty spectacular timing. Stumbling over to Derek, he quickly got to work on the shackles binding his feet and hands to the table. 

" _Jesus_ Derek what the hell did she do to you?", he muttered to himself, cringing as he examined the damage from a few inches away. Once he was finished with that, he gently began trying to wake the older boy up. "Derek, Derek c'mon buddy I need you to come back to us", he said, shaking him and then lightly slapping his face when he got no response. Stiles let out a sigh of relief as Derek began stirring gently and groaning softly, blinking his eyes open very slowly. "Derek, thank god! Okay, now I know you're probably in a lot of pain, but I need to treat the wolfsbane poisoning if we're going to get you out of here in one piece." Renee had taught him how to treat this kind of injury the night before, but actually putting it into practice was so much more intimidating. The last thing he wanted to do was screw this up and end up putting him in more pain than he was already in. 

He quickly pulled the packet of wolfsbane powder out of his jacket pocket and hovered it over the biggest cut on his abdomen. "This is going to suck a lot dude, so prepare yourself I guess". Hesitating only briefly, Stiles poured the powder into the open wounds, cringing as Derek bit his fist to quiet his screams. 

"How's he doing?", Lydia asked, sliding up next to him. 

"It's still going to take him some time to heal, but once this kicks in he'll be fine", Stiles replied, still attending to Derek's injuries. Between the two of them, Lydia and Stiles had him repaired and, despite Stiles' protests, in fighting condition. He rose to his feet, injecting himself into the chaotic mural of blurred wolves and hunters painting themselves into the fabric of the room as they fought. 

All of the fighting halted almost instantly as Kate pulled Anna Lee to her chest, holding a dagger against her throat. 

"Kate, don't do this. She isn't one of us- she's just a human", Derek said, trying to appease the older woman. 

"Oh sweetie", she began with a laugh, "I know the difference between the werewolves and the humans in their pack. I also know that humans make the packs stronger. How much damage do you think it would do if I just killed her, right now?", she mused, pressed the dagger further into the girl's skin. 

"If you kill her, you'll start an all out war. I don't think your brother would be too happy to hear about that", Talia said. "I doubt he enjoys cleaning up your messes, along with the rest of the hunters who _follow the code_."

"Then let the war begin", she replied with a smirk, slitting Anna Lee's throat and letting her body fall to the floor. 

Second later, Talia ripped Kate's throat out and tore her body in half. Luke, Melanie and Christian bolted over to Anna Lee's body, crumpling together in a pile of tears and anguish. Foot steps thundered down the stairs as Robert, Isaac, Erica, Daniel and Jackson walked in, stopping and falling silent immediately as they took in the scene around them. Stiles felt like his heart had been ripped from his chest, his lungs burning as he struggled to remember how to breathe. Anna Lee had been like an older sister to him in so many ways, and he had spent the last seven years growing up with her- and now she was just _gone_. He had just watched Kate take her life, right in front of him. 

He glanced around the room, his heart breaking a little more at each distraught Hale member he saw. They were all comforting each other, crying together, just reacting together- all of them accept for Derek. He still hadn't moved from where he had been standing and was staring blankly in front of him. Stiles took a deep breath and approached him slowly, stopping about a foot in front of the older man. His hand was shaking as he hesitantly reached out to touch Derek's shoulder. He gave it a small squeeze in an attempt to be comforting, not wanting to cross any personal boundaries; it only lasted for a brief moment until he realized he didn't care. Derek _needed_ a shoulder to cry on, and he would never admit it- but maybe he would _accept_ it if Stiles offered. The younger man gently wrapped his arms around Derek's waist, running his hand through his hair and resting his head on the broad shoulder now in front of him. It only took a few seconds for Derek to melt into his touch, burying his head in Stile's neck as he let out a strangled sob. Stiles carefully lowered them to a kneeling position and held the sobbing man tightly as silent tears fell from his own eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER OF THE FIRST PART OF THE SERIES  
> if you would like me to continue with the series and start on the second part, please let me know!

**Author's Note:**

> feel free to come fangirl and such with me on [tumblr](http://righteouspumpernickel.tumblr.com) :D


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